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ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY, 

ON THE //# rs&c/£~^Z^ 

NEAR APPROACH £ ^ 



OF THE -f- 

GLORIOUS, EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF GOD 
ON EARTH; 

AS INDICATED BY THE WORD OF GOD, THE HISTORY OF 
THE WORLD, SIGNS OF THE PRESENT TIMES, 

THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS, &C. 



BY REV. J. LITCH, 

Author of " Review of Miller," " Christ's Second 
Coming about A.D. 1843," &c. 



" We have also a more sure word of prophecy ; whereunto ye do well 
that ye take heed, as unto a light* -^rat-sHiaeth in a dark place, until the 
day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearty" — 2 Pet. u 19. 




BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED BY DOW & JACKSON, 

NO. 14 DEVONSHIRE STREET, 

1840. -A 



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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by JOSIAH 
LITCH, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



JflJi 



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DOW & JACKSON'S POWER PRESS, 
14 Devonshire Street, Boston. 



CONTENTS. 



SECTION I. 

THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Prevailing Opinion on the Millenium, 13 — Objections to 
the theory of a temporal Millenium, 15— The Nature of 
the Kingdom of God, as shown the Apostles, 16 — The 
Kingdom of God to be everlasting, 18— The Resurrec- 
tion, Gog and Magog, 20 — Distinction between the Res- 
urrection and Judgment, 25. 

SECTION II. 

THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

The Original Promise, 29 — Promises not made to their lit- 
eral Descendants, 30 — TheTime when these Promises 
are to be fulfilled, 32 — The Manner in which these 
Promises are to be fulfilled, 33. 

SECTION III. 

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 

A Falling away and Revelation of the Man of Sin, before 
the day of the Lord, 41 — Daniel's vision of the four 
great beasts, 42 — The time, times, and dividing of time, 
of Daniel vii. 25th, 43 — Identity of the Apocalyptic 
Beast, Rev. xiii, with the little horn, 49 — The two 
horned beast, and image of the beast, 49 — The number 
of the beast and number of his name, 51. 



4 CONTENTS. 

SECTION IV. 

THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED — OR, EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM. 

Design of the different visions of Daniel, 53 — The Ram 
and Goat — his four horns and the little horn, 54 — The 
time when the sanctuary shall be cleansed, 59. 

SECTION V. 

THE TIME OF THE END, AND END ITSELF. 

The Medo-Persian and Macedonian kingdoms, 63 — Ro- 
man, Jewish, and Christian History, 65 — The French 
Revolution, and the reign of Buonaparte, 68 — Great 
time of trouble, 74 — The words and book closed and 
sealed, 75. 



SECTION VI. 

THE THREE WOES, AND THE TWO WITNESSES. 

Encouragement for studying the book of Revelation, 79 — 
The angel of the bottomless pit, Rev. ix. 80 — Sound- 
ing of the sixth angel, 82 — The little book and its con- 
tents, Rev. x. and xi. chaps. 84 — The two witnesses 
prophesy in sackcloth, 84. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



Dearly Beloyed Brethren, — Your station, and the 
relation you hold to society, invests you with a power over 
the minds of men, on all subjects connected with religion, 
such as no other class of men can possess. If truly called 
of God to the work in which you are engaged, you are 
placed as watchmen on the walls of Zion, to hear the word 
at the mouth of the Lord and warn the people from him. 
This relation to God and man, rolls on you an immense 
weight of responsibility ; to you the community look for 
warning when danger is near, for correction when they err, 
and instruction in the way of truth and righteousness. 

Hence, whenever any subject comes up for discussion 
vitally affecting the spiritual and eternal interests of 
mankind, they instinctively look to their spiritual guide for 
counsel, and are disposed to rely on his decisions. But, 
unless the subject, in all its bearings and aspects, is famil- 
iar to him, how can he give them the needful instruction ? 
If he attempts to instruct at all, under such circumstances, 
he will be very likely to darken counsel by words without 
knowledge. Thus, the blind leading the blind, both will 
be likely to fall into the ditch. It must, therefore, be the 



6 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

duty of every minister of the gospel to acquaint himself 
with such subjects, that he may act understanding! y in re- 
lation to them. 

The subject named at the head of this address is of 
such a character. For, " if it is true, it is tremendously 
true." It cannot be a matter of indifference whether the 
kingdom of God is a temporal or eternal kingdom, whether 
the time is near at hand or far distant. I am aware that 
it is often said, "it matters not when it comes, if we are 
only prepared for it." Very true ; but are all men pre- 
pared for it? Are even a majority of mankind pre- 
pared for it? It is this want of preparation which makes 
it important that the note of alarm should be sounded. 
Does it matter, when men die, if they are but prepared for 
death ? Certainly not. But where is the true minister of 
the Lord Jesus, who does not think it important, frequent- 
ly, to remind his hearers of death; and also to press on 
them its nearness ? Yet the writers of the New Testa- 
ment, have not half as frequently nor half as earnestly, 
pressed on us the nearness and certainty of death, as of 
the judgment. 

The question is now fairly before the Christian commu- 
nity ; — " Does the Bible teach the near approach of the 
glorious, everlasting kingdom of God on earth ? " And 
before the excitement on it can subside, it must be 
thoroughly investigated. 

And why should not every Christian minister come 
boldly up to the work and take up the subject in a candid 
and unprejudiced manner ? 

Will it be said, " There are some subjects which carry 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 7 

absurdity on their face, so legibly inscribed, as to render it 
unnecessary to examine them to draw an inference con- 
cerning their merits ; and that the subject in question, is 
among the number? " Wherein does the absurdity con- 
sist ? Is it in endeavoring to fix upon the nature of the 
kingdom of God on earth, as taught in the Bible ? Or is it 
in endeavoring to find the time fixed for the commencement 
of the prophetic periods of the Bible, the termination of 
which is to introduce that glorious state ? It certainly 
cannot be in either of these ; for each of them has occu- 
pied the mind of the greatest and best of men in all ages. 

Yet this is all that these pages profess to do ; and a 
true answer to these two questions is all that is sought. 

Finally, the question resolves itself into this, Is the mil- 
lenium of the Scriptures, to be in a temporal, or an eternal 
state ? If in the former, then the theory advocated in these 
pages must fall. But, if in the latter, then the objection 
as to the time, vanishes. For the warmest opponents of 
this theory admit the prophetic period, by w T hich we arrive 
at the time, to begin and end at the same time contended 
for in these sheets. They believe the termination of the 
2300 days of Dan. viii. 14 will introduce a temporal mil- 
lenium, and the literal restoration of the Jews ; but here it 
is contended that no such events as these are to be look- 
ed for : but that the event is the establishment of a glori- 
ous and everlasting kingdom of God on earth, at the res- 
urrection of the just. There can, therefore, be no more 
absurdity in saying that the glorious kingdom of God will 
be established at a given time, than there is in saying that 



8 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

the period will terminate at that time, but in another event. 
For the Scriptures must decide what the event is; and it 
cannot be absurd to examine them in reference to this in- 
teresting and important question. Brethren, look at this 
subject. But there are some other objections which fre- 
quently come up, and exert an influence on the public 
mind ; some of them shall now be examined. 

1. It is asked, — Does not Christ say, Matt. xxiv. 36, 
" But of that day and hour knoweth no man ; no not the 
angels of heaven, but my Father only ? " True, he does. 
But what has that text to do with the case in hand 1 I 
do not, nor have I ever done it, attempted to determine 
the day or the hour of the Son of Man's coming. Let 

THIS POINT BE DISTINCTLY UNDERSTOOD. I believe the glo- 

rious appearing of the Savior, will be between the fall of 
the Ottoman empire, which will probably take place this 
year, and the termination of 1843. And that by the end 
of that year all the scenes of judgment and trouble, will be 
passed, and in the expressive language of inspiration, " the 
sanctuary will be cleansed" But at what point of time be- 
tween those periods Christ will make his appearance, 
whether in 1841-2, or 3, I know not. The signs of the 
times, as foretold in the Bible, will indicate His near ap- 
proach, but for the precise time, we are commanded to 
watch. 

Let us, then, examine the above text in the light of these 
remarks. Christ had just uttered a prediction respecting 
his coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
glory, &c; also, he had related a great variety of signs, 



INTRODUCTOY REMARKS. 9 

which should precede his coming and indicate his near 
approach. To illustrate his meaning, he related a parable 
of the fig-tree. " When his branch is yet tender and put- 
eth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh : so like- 
wise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is 
near, even at the doors." u But of that day and hour 
knoweth no man, no; not the angels of heaven, but my 
Father only." Who cannot see, in this connection, that 
the Savior did intend to be understood, that although the 
precise time should not be known, its near approach, yea, 
its approach even to the doors, might be known ? But 
how far from us is an event, when it is at the door ? 

2. It is said, The parting instruction of the Savior, when 
he was about to ascend to heaven, is decidedly against the 
idea of knowing any thing respecting the time. Acts i. 6, 
7. " Lord wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom again 
to Israel ? And he said unto them, it is not for you to 
know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put 
in his own power." 

It is very significantly asked, in view of this text, if we 
are to expect to know more on this subject, than the inspir- 
ed apostles ? I answer, Yes. For they lived in an age 
when it was not necessary that the times and seasons 
should be known. And, hence, it was said to them, "it is 
for you to know," &c. 

After the times and seasons were revealed to Daniel, he 
was commanded to " close up the words and seal the book 
even to the time of the end." And again, when he would 
have known more of the matter, it was said to him, " the 



10 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

words are closed up and sealed even to the time of the 
end." Until the " time of the end" therefore, the times 
and seasons were not to be known ; but that time had not 
come in the apostolic age, but it now has come. (See 
section fifth of this book,) 

Once more. Peter informs us, (1 Epistle i. 11, 12,) that 
the prophets who prophesied of the grace which should 
come unto us, searched diligently, " ivhat, or what man- 
ner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did 
signify when it testified before hand the sufferings of Christ, 
and the glory that should follow/' But they were told 
that they ministered not to themselves, but to others. 

How striking an illustration is this, of the case of Daniel. 
He desired to understand, he searched and inquired dili- 
gently, but was told that the matter was closed and sealed 
even to the time of the end. If, then, the time of the end 
has come, (and it has) we may expect to know more of the 
times and seasons now, than even the inspired penman 
could, in former ages. They ministered not for them- 
selves, but for us. 

These objections are all I have room to examine in this 
place. But I, as one of the least and most unworthy of 
the ministers of the Lord Jesus, entreat you, my brethren 
beloved, whatever may be your peculiar denominational 
views, to read with candor the following pages, and com- 
pare the sentiments with the word of God and matter of 
fact ; then make up your judgment. Do not treat the sub- 
ject lightly ; by so doing, you may lull some souls to sleep 
in their sins which would otherwise be led to the Lord 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 11 

Jesus Christ for refuge, If there is great responsibility 
assumed by those who teach the near approach of the 
kingdom of God, and direct the community to read and 
search the Scriptures on this subject; how much greater 
is the responsibility of those who cry, peace and safety; 
my Lord delayeth his coming. 

For two years, this has been the subject of my study, 
and the result is, that every successive step brings out new 
truths in favor of the system, and increases my conviction 
of its immutability, when taken as a whole. That this 
work, or indeed, any other on the subject, is free from error 
or imperfection, it is not pretended. That it is not only 
possible, but probable, that the exposition of some texts of 
Scripture remarked upon in this work is incorrect, and that 
I may hereafter see differently in relation to them, I freely 
admit. But that every point, materially and vitally affect- 
ing the system, is founded on the rock of truth, I firmly 
believe. 

In conclusion, permit me to say, — It is not a disposition 
to set myself up as a teacher, or because I feel myself wis- 
er, or better, than my brethren, that I send abroad this lit* 
tie work ; far from it : no one can be more sensible of his 
incompetency for such a work, and of his unworthiness 
to address his fellow ambassadors on a subject of such vast 
moment, than the writer. And most gladly would he sit 
at the feet of his brethren and receive instruction on the 
subject, could he see them awake to the work. And noth- 
ing but a solemn sense of duty to God and man could 
have induced this effort. But, with all its imperfections, it 



12 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

is now presented to the public. And if it shall prove in- 
strumental in leading one soul to Christ and the kingdom 
of heaven, I shall feel myself a thousand times rewarded 
for all my labor, and the reproach I may bring on myself 
by the avowal of these sentiments. 
I am, dear Brethren, 

your fellow servant, 

in the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
JOSIAH LITCH. 
Millennial Grove, May 10, 1840. 



SECTION I 



THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 



PREVAILING OPINION ON THE MILLENIUM. 

The God of heaven has made, in the sacred Scriptures, 
a revelation of the events of futurity. By the mouth of 
his servant Daniel, he has given to the world a chain of 
events, commencing with the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, 
and extending to the establishment of the everlasting king- 
dom of God, over all the earth. 

In support of this position the second chapter of Daniel 
is adduced. God did, in that dream, under the emblem of 
a great image, the representative of four great monarchies, 
and a stone cut from the mountain without hands, for the 
ultimate destruction of those governments, make known to 
the king Nebuchadnezzar what should be in futurity. 

That four such governments as were there represented 
have existed and filled up the whole period of time from 
then, to the present, is not a matter of dispute. But that 
the fifth kingdom is not yet established, is equally evident i 
— For — 1. The destruction of all the former kingdoms 
was to precede its establishment; which has not taken place. 
2. That kingdom is to fill the whole earth; which it now 
does not. See Daniel ii. 34, 35. 

" Thou sawest until that a stone was cut out without 
hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of 
iron and clay, and break them in pieces. Then was the 
iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken to 
pieces together, and become like the chaff of the summer 
threshing floors ; and the wind carried them away, that no 
place was found for them :. and the stone that smote theim- 
2 



14 THE NATURE OF THE 

age, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." 
This representation is interpreted in the 44th and 45th 
verses of the same chapter. 

" And in the days of these kings shall the God of heav- 
en set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ; and 
ihe kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall 
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it 
shall stand forever. 

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of 
the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces 
the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold ; the 
great God hath made known to the king what shall come 
to pass hereafter : and the dream is certain, and the inter- 
pretation thereof sure." 

If such a kingdom is to be established on earth, it is cer- 
tainly a matter of some importance to us who live in these 
last times, to understand the nature of that kingdom, and 
also the way in which it is to be established. 

The prevailing opinion in the Christian church, is, that 
the kingdom predicted in the above passages, is no other, 
than the church of Christ in her militant state : — that this 
church is ultimately to triumph over all nations, and be 
permanently established in all the earth. 

And the means by which it is thought by many this is 
to be effected, is the preaching of the gospel for the evan- 
gelizing of the nations. In proof of this, we are cited to 
Psalm ii. 8. " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the hea- 
then for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for thy possession." 

The declaration of Christ is also produced as evidence 
on the same point. " This gospel of the kingdom must 
s be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations ; 
then shall the end come." It is also said, u They shall 
know the Lord, from the least to the greatest/' &c. From 
these and some other texts of similar import, it is inferred 
that the kingdom of Christ is to be established by the 
means now in operation for the evangelizing of the world. 
Furthermore; it is believed that when the world is thus 
evangelized, the state predicted in the 20th chapter of Rev- 
elation will be realized. Satan will lose his influence 
over mankind, and a state of perfect peace and tranquillity 
will be enjoyed by the world for a thousand years. This 
is what is termed, the millenium. 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 15 



OBJECTIOxNS TO THE THEORY OF A TEMPORAL MILLENIUM. 

But against this theory there are many objections ; some 
of which 1 will here present. 

1. The texts above referred to, do not teach the doctrine 
of the world's conversion. The text in the second Psalm 
teaches almost any thing, rather than such a doctrine, as 
the following verse shows. " And thou shalt break them 
with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's 
vessel." Instead of the conversion, the destruction of the 
heathen is there decreed. And yet this is the strongest 
text in the Bible by which the event is attempted to be 
proved. We will turn to the promise of Christ, of the 
universal publication of the gospel. Matt. xxiv. 14. "This 
gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world, 
for a witness unto all nations; then shall the end come." 
Not one word is here said of the conversion of the world. 
But this promise was given in answer to the question, 
" What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of 
the world ? " When, therefore, all nations have heard the 
gospel, before all have embraced it the end of the world 
shall come. 

2. The Scriptures do foretell the destruction of the wick- 
ed, before, and preparatory to the establishment of the 
kingdom of God on earth. 

Psalm ii. 9th, as above quoted, is a text in point. So al- 
so the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, where 
the great image is to be broken in pieces and reduced to 
powder, like the chafFof the summer's threshing-floor, and 
the wind is to carry it away. 

The parable of the wheat and tares is also in point. 
Matt. xiii. The wheat, or good seed, are there represent- 
ed to be the children of the kingdom ; but the tares, the 
children of the wicked one. These are both to grow to- 
gether, until the harvest, or end of the world ; when the 
angels shall sever the wicked from among the just, and cast 
them into a furnace of fire. Then shall the righteous 
shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. 

There is nothing in all this, of the conversion of all the 
world, the confinement of Satan, and a thousand years of 
peace and happiness, before the end of the world. On the 



16 THE NATURE OF THE 

contrary, wickedness is to continue on earth, and even af- 
flict the righteous until the final separation, at the coming 
of Christ. 2 Thess. ii. Paul has also predicted the same 
thing. ■' Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the 
Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth and de- 
stroy by the brightness of his corning." 

Will it be said that that prediction only relates to the 
papal system, and not to the wicked in general ? It is re- 
plied, no matter for that: for the strongest advocates of a 
temporal millenium, admit that the papal system must and 
will be abolished before that happy state begins. But this 
man of sin, if it means popery, is to be abolished by the 
brightness of Christ's coming. But when he comes, (See 
first chapter,) he will not only destroy the papal system, 
but will take vengeance on all who know not God and obey 
not the gospel. So there is no room for a thousand years 
millenium between the destruction of " that loicked" (Po- 
pery,) and all the wicked of the earth; for both are to be 
destroyed at the appearing of the Savior. 



TLES, 



The Lord Jesus Christ, in one of his discourses with his 
disciples, gave them the promise That there were some of 
them standing with him that should not taste of death, till 
they saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Matt. 
xvi. 28. 

The kingdom of which he spake was evidently the one 
he is to establish when he comes to reward every man ac- 
cording to his work. Did the Savior ever fulfil this prom- 
ise ? I am aware it is sometimes said, he did ; on the day 
of Pentecost. But I deny it, and ask for the evidence. 

No writer, either sacred or profane, has ever testified 
that Jesus Christ was seen on that occasion. But the text 
explicitly declares, " they shall see the Son of Man coming 
in his kingdom." But the day of Pentecost was emphati- 
cally the dispensation of the Holy Ghost. 

Again. If the Pentecost was the fulfilment of the 
promise, then all who heard him, with the exception of Ju- 
das, saw it. For it was a private conversation with the 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 17 

disciples. So that not some, but all, except Judas, saw it. 
But the promise was literally and truly fulfilled about 6 
or 8 days after those sayings, when k ' Jesus took with him 
Peter, James and John, and went up into a high mountain 
apart, and was transfigured before them ; and his face 
shone like the sun, and his raiment was white as the 
light." In what greater glory can the " Son of Man" ever 
appear than that in which he did appear on that occasion? 
But Moses, that faithful servant of God, w r ho died and was 
buried by God's own hand, was there, in his glorified body, 
assumed for the occasion ; for he appeared in the form of 
a man, as well as Elias, who never tasted death; these 
both were there; the former, the representative of those 
who shall be dead and raised when Christ appears in glo- 
ry ; the latter, the representative of those who shall be 
alive and be changed from mortality to immortality, at the 
appearing of the Savior. And while this company of 
glorified beings communed together, a bright cloud over- 
shadowed them ; and a voice out of the cloud said, This is 
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

But that the transfiguration was an exhibition of the 
kingdom of Christ, we have yet farther evidence. 1 Peter 
v. 1. Peter calls himself " an elder, and a witness of the 
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker (or companion) 
of the glory which shall be revealed." But he was never 
(a companion or) a partaker of that glory except at the 
transfiguration. There he was a partaker or partner of it. 
Again, 2 Peter 1st chapter, he dwells largely upon the 
theme. He first exhorts his brethren to a faithful perform- 
ance of Christian duties, and assures them that by doing 
thus, an entrance should be ministered to them abundantly 
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. To the end they might keep the kingdom of God 
in view as the prize for which they run, he tells them he 
would not be negligent to put them in mind of these 
things ; not because they were at that time either ignorant 
or unsettled on the subject, but because he was shortly to 
put off his tabernacle, as Christ had showed him, and wish- 
ed they might be able, after his decease, to have these 
things always in remembrance. " For we have not," he 
says, " followed cunningly devised fables, when we made 
known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Je- 
2* 



18 THE NATURE OF THE 

sus Christ ; but were eye-witnesses of his Majesty. 
For he received from God the Father, honor and glory, 
when there came such a voice to him from the excellent 
glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom lam well pleased. 
And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when 
we were with him in the holy mount." 

But, notwithstanding Peter was an eye and ear witness 
of the kingdom and glory of Christ, he assures us, we have 
also a more sure word of prophecy than even his testimo- 
ny, viz. the testimony of the holy prophets, who wrote 
of old as moved by the Holy Ghost. 

From the foregoing exhibition and testimony, we learn 
that the kingdom of Christ is to be in a state of glory and 
Immortality ; for when the kingdom of God was exhibited 
to the Apostles, they saw as its subjects,— 

1. Jesus Christ, in a glorified body, his countenance 
shining like the sun, and his garments as white as the 
light. 

2. Moses, who had passed the gate of death, but, on that 
occasion, clothed in a glorious body, was there, as an ex- 
hibition of what the saints will be at the resurrection. 

3. Elias was there; an example of those who will be 
alive when the Savior appears, and be caught up to meet 
him in the air, to be forever with him. Such then will 
be the society of the kingdom of heaven. 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO BE EVERLASTING. 

If there were no other difficulty in the way of establish- 
ing the doctrine of a temporal millenium, it would be fatal 
to it, that wherever the kingdom of God is spoken of, by 
the prophets, it is introduced as an everlasting kingdom. 

Dan, ii. 44. " The God of heaven shall set up a king- 
dom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom 
shall not be left to other people, but it shall stand for- 
ever, &c. 

Again, Dan. vii. 27. " And the kingdom and dominion, 
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, 
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most 
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom." 

Once more; Rev. ii. 15. "And the seventh angel 
sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 19 

kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." 

It is acknowledged even by the advocates of the " tem- 
poral millenium," that the prophecies with which the above 
texts stand connected, must have their fulfilment before the 
millenium ; and also, it is contended that these very texts 
predict the millenium itself, But yet language cannot ex- 
press the eternity of the kingdom more strongly than it is 
taught above. 

But it is said the terms, everlasting, forever and ever, fyc. 
are used in an accommodated sense, in the above texts. 
But where is the evidence of the fact ? There is none ; 
the texts neither require nor admit of an accommodated 
sense of the terms. The plain, litteral, grammatical mean- 
ing is the only one which is required. Dr. A. Clarke, in 
his notes on Gen. xxi. 33, says, " Olam" the Hebrew, and 
" aion " the Greek word, rendered " everlasting," ** liter' 
ally signify eternal, or duration without end. 11 

He further says, " the first and best writers, in both He- 
brew and Greek, use the terms to express eternal, in the 
proper sense of that word ; and that this is their proper 
meaning, in both the Old and New Testaments, when ap- 
plied to God, his attributes, his operations, &c. 

But the terms iri the above passages, are applied to God 
and his operations ; and must, therefore, signify, not 1000 
years, nor 360,000 years, but unending duration. 

The kingdom of God on earth is not, then, the church, 
either in its whole duration under its present constitution, 
nor yet the church during the last thousand years of time : 
but, the redeemed from all nations, inheriting the kingdom, 
prepared for and given to man (who was created in the 
image of God,) from the foundation of the world. That 
dominion was lost by transgression ; but Jesus Christ, by 
the price of his own blood, has regained it, as the everlast- 
ing kingdom and dwelling place of his saints. These 
shall go into life eternal. He is now the nobleman (see 
Luke xix. 11, 27,) who has gone " into a far country, to 
receive for himself a kingdom and to return." But that 
return is not until the day of judgment, when his servants 
will be called to an account, and receive their reward ; and 
his enemies be destroyed. 

Indeed it is difficult to conceive how the idea has so 



20 THE NATURE OF THE 

generally obtained, that the kingdom of God on earth is 
the Christian church under the gospel dispensation ; and 
that this kingdom is to become universal by the conversion 
of the world of 'mankind to Christ, It is asserted without 
fear of successful contradiction, that there is not a single 
text in the bible which authorizes us to look for such an 
event ; but there are a multitude of texts, which declare the 
contrary. 

I can but regard the doctrine of a temporal millenium 
as a dangerous error, and as such I feel myself solemnly 
bound to use my faithful endeavors to drive it away. It is 
dangerous, not in itself, but in its influence ; man may, 
or may not believe it, and yet, his salvation not be necessa- 
rily affected by his opinion. But the direct tendency of 
the doctrine is, to lull a sinful world to sleep, while they 
are looking for the universal conversion of the world and 
the 1000 years of the spiritual reign of Christ. And thus 
the day of the Lord may come on them as a thief. While 
they are crying " peace and safety;" "the coming of the 
Lord is far distant ;" "the world is yet to be converted, and 
I shall of course be brought in," &c. sudden destruction 
may come on them. 

I admit, if such a doctrine is taught in the bible we are 
bound to believe it, and also to teach it; and are not re- 
sponsible for the consequences. But woe to that man who 
dares to teach it, and thus lull a perishing world to sleep 
if that book does not sanction it. But where, I ask, is such 
a doctrine found in all the word of God ? Shall I be told, 
the twentieth chapter of Revelation ? It is not found there. 
The doctrine of the resurrection is not more clearly taught 
in all the bible, than in that chapter ; and any argument 
which would prove that a mystical resurrection, instead of 
a literal one, is there taught, would prove the same fact 
respecting every other text in the bible, which relates to 
the resurrection of the dead. But that portion of the word 
of God shall now be investigated. 

THE RESURRECTION— GOG AND MAGOG. 

In pursuing the investigation of the twentieth chapter of 
Revelation, it will be necessary to examine other parts of 
the bible where the doctrine of the resurrection is taught, 



KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. 21 

and show the agreement between them and this chapter. 

1. The time when the resurrection ivill take place. Job 
xix. 25, 27. " I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he 
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And 
though afler my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my 
flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself; and 
mine eyes shall behold and not another." 

From this text we learn — 1. That the resurrection will 
be at " the latter day." 2. That it will be when the 
" Redeemer stands upon the earth" 

Again, Tsa. xxvi. 19, 21. We are taught that the resur- 
rection will take place when the Lord cometh out of his 
place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their in- 
iquity. From Daniel xii. 1, 2, we learn that it will be 
when Michael, the great Prince, stands up for the deliver- 
ance of his people ; and when the wise shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to 
righteousness, as the stars, forever and ever. 1 Cor. xv. 
52. u In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, nt the last 
trump, the dead shall be raised, incorruptible." From the 
above texts, we learn that the resurrection of the just, at 
least, will take place at the end of the world, when the 
Lord Jesus Christ comes to be glorified in his saints. 

2. The order of the resurrection. Daniel xii. 2. "Ma- 
ny of them which sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlast- 
ing contempt." In this text a marked distinction is kept 
up between the resurrection of the righteous and the wick- 
ed. 1. The resurrection is not at first, general, but " Many 
shall awake." 2. The righteous, or those who come forth 
to everlasting life, will come forth first. This text, there- 
fore, teaches the doctrine of two distinct resurrections. 

The Savior has also taught us, (John v. 28, 29,) that there 
shall be a " resurrection of life," at which time they that 
have done good shall come forth from their graves. There 
shall also be a "resurrection of damnation ;" at which time 
they that have done evil shall come forth. Paul also 
taught, (Acts xxiv. 15,) that there should "be a resurrec- 
tion of the just," and a resurrection "of the unjust," 
(1 Thess. iv. 16.) He taught that the righteous should 
" rise first ." 1 Cor. xv. 22, 24, is also a text in point. 
" For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 



22 THE NATURE OF THE 

made alive. But every man in his own order : Christ the 
first fruits ; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 
Then cometh the end." &c. In this text, the apostle as- 
serts the resurrection of all who died in Adam ; and gives 
two distinct periods at which they will rise, after the res- 
urrection of Christ, the first fruits. 1. The resurrection of 
all who " are his at his coming." Implying, that all who 
are not his, will not have part in this resurrection. 2. 
" Then cometh the end ;" when all his enemies are to be 
destroyed, and the Mediatorial character of Christ cease. 

Having thus briefly shown that two distinct resurrections, 
that of " the just" and "the unjust" are foretold in the 
holy scriptures ; and that the former is to take place at the 
second appearing of Christ, and the latter at a subsequent 
period ; the way is open to enter on the examination of the 
20th chapter of Revelation. 

1. The first scene which there presents itself, is, a 
mighty angel descending from heaven, having the key of 
the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. " He 
laid hold of the devil and bound him, and cast him into the 
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him 
that he should deceive the nations no more until the thou- 
sand years are finished." There are two marks by which 
the angel above named is determined to be Jesus Christ. 
The first is, he has the key of hell, or the bottomless pit. 
(See Rev. i. IS.) The second is, he has power to bind the 
devil, and restrain his influence. This also is the peculiar 
work of Christ. 

2. The next scene, is, the souls of the martyrs, and final- 
ly of all who had not received the mark of the beast, or 
his image ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thou- 
sand years. This is said to be " the first resurrection." 
" But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thou- 
sand years were finished." It is difficult to conceive how 
any doctrine can be more distinctly stated, than that of two 
resurrections, is, in this passage. But what construction 
is to be put on the period named, whether it is to be under- 
stood literally, or as a prophetic number representing 360- 
000 years; or yet, as an indefinite period, it is difficult to 
determine. But the probability is, that it denotes an indef- 
inite period. For as " time will be no longer," when the 
seventh trump sounds, duration will be unmeasured ; all 
will be eternity, beyond that event. 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 23 

But it is still objected, " the Revelator says, * they lived 
and reigned with Christ a thovsand years. 1 " Again, 
" They shall be priests of God and of Christ; and shall 
reign with him a thousand years" Hence, it is argued, 
their eternal state of blessedness could not have commenc- 
ed with thn 1000 years, for they were only to be priests to 
God and Christ, and " reign with him a thousand years." 
May not the meaning of the above text be, that the right- 
eous shall live and reign with God and Christ, or with 
Christ in his perfect mediatorial character of God and man, 
during that period, before the final resurrection and judg- 
ment ; when he, Christ, shall have put down all rul^ and 
all authority and power, and also have destroyed death, 
when " the Son himself shall become subject" and God 
41 be all in all ?" 

To illustrate this point, 1 Cor. xv. 22, 28, may very 
properly be introduced. We are there taught that after 
the resurrection of the just, " He must reign until the end" 
or final resurrection. And after that event, together with 
the final judgment and punishment of His own, and his 
people's enemies, and the final destruction of death, the 
last enemy which shall be destroyed, He shall deliver up 
the kingdom to God, even the Father. And that, " then 
shall the Son also himself be subject to him who did put 
all things under him, that God may be all in all." 

From the above, it is evident some change is to be ef- 
fected in the character of Christ, after the final conquest of 
all his enemies. That change is to be, from supreme au- 
thority, to a state of subjection to God, even the Father. 
But if Christ, as the Son of God, is truly divine, and is 
one with the Father; co-equal and co-eternal, then, in 
what sense can he become subject in which he was not 
eternally so? But, if the human nature of Christ only is 
the Son of God, and in him dwelt the Logos, or * all 
the fullness of the Godhead bodily/' according to Dr. 
Clark's opinion, then indeed there is a sense in which the 
So?i may become subject, and God be all and in all. The 
object of the incarnation was, the destruction of the works 
of the devil ; and when that object is fully accomplished 
the union between the human and divine nature of Christ, 
if he is only the Son of God in his human nature, may 
cease. But Christ, as the " Son of God," and " the 



24 THE NATURE OF THE 

son of David" shall still reign on " the throne of his father 
David forever," subject hims If only to God. 

If this view of the subject is correct, then what is meant 
by the saints reigning with Christ and God a thousand 
years, is very plain : that is, during that period, Christ, as 
perfect God, and perfect man, shall reign over the redeem- 
ed world. And subsequently to the final judgment, Christ 
shall only reign as the Son of God, and the Son of David. 
But in the condition of the righteous there shall be no 
change. For, " blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection : on such the second death hath no pow- 
er." 

But who, it is asked, are Gog and Magog, if none of 
the wicked are to be left on earth during the 1000 years, 
and none of the righteous are to apostatize at its expira- 
tion ? And in reply, I ask, what is the meaning of the 
following text? "But the rest of the dead lived not again 
until the thousand years were finished." What is it, but 
asserting that when the thousand years are ended, the rest, 
that is, the wicked dead, shall live again ? But when Sa- 
tan finds Gog and Magog in the four quarters of the earth, 
the 1000 years will have ended \ for Satan is not to go out 
until they are. Gog and Magog, then, are all the wicked 
of the earth, in their resurrection bodies, preparatory to 
their final punishment. 

But at the end of the thousand years, both Satan and 
his servants will be released from their prison. The devil 
will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four 
quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them to- 
gether to battle. They will go up on the breadth of the 
earth, and compass the camp of the saints and the beloved 
city. But as they will be gathered by deception, the ob- 
ject for which they will assemble, will not be gained. Be- 
fore any battle ensues, fire is to come down from God, out 
of heaven, and devour them. The final judgment of God, 
in the midst of their anticipated battle, will be poured on 
them, and they be swept away as with the besom of de- 
struction. 

But perhaps the question may arise, " Is it not absurd to 
suppose, that after the wicked are raised from the dead, 
with all the knowledge they* may be supposed to possess of 
the character of the devil, and the consequences of believ- 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 25 

ing him, that he will have sufficient influence over them, 
again to deceive them ? " By no means ! We know that 
men in this life are hardly ever deterred from an evil 
course, by any consequences they may have brought on 
themselves by their sinful indulgences : on the contrary, 
they are overcome more easily by the next temptation, 
than by the first. And can we suppose they will be any 
more disposed to resist temptation after all the restraints 
of grace are taken ofT, than they are in this life ?. Cer- 
tainly not. 

We are told, Matt. xxiv. 31, that the Son of Man, at 
his appearing in glory, " shall send forth his angels with a 
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together 
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to 
the other." Here let it be observed, — 1. None but " the 
elect" of Christ are to be gathered. — 2. The angels are the 
agents employed in this work. So also when at the voice 
of the Son of God, the wicked live or come forth, their old 
master and father is made the agent of gathering them to 
their final doom. And this he accomplishes, as he did 
their ruin, by deception. 

After the accomplishment of the work for which the 
devil " must be loosed for a little season" he is again to be 
" taken and cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where 
the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented 
day and night forever." 

I do not know how the scriptural doctrine of two resur- 
rections, that of the "just and unjust," could be more for- 
cibly illustrated than it is in this chapter. But not one 
word does it contain about the conversion of the world, or 
a spiritual reign of Christ for a thousand years. But the 
souls of all who had not received the mark of the beast or 
his image were seen, &c, " and they lived" 



DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT. 

But it may be said, " The latter part of the twentieth 
chapter is irreconcileable with the above explanation. 
That in the 11th, 12th, and 13th verses, and not until 
then, the judgment and resurrection are introduced." 

The difficulty arises from confounding the resurrection 
3 



26 



THE NATURE OF THE 



and judgment, or at least, from giving the resurrection the 
precedence in the order of time; whereas the scriptures 
place the judgment first. The case is this: the first part 
of the chapter is taken up in illustrating the order of the 
resurrection, and in making perfectly plain what had been 
before stated without illustration, that there is to be a res- 
urrection of the just and the unjust. There is in the 
course of that description nothing said of the judgment : 
that subject was to be introduced and explained subse- 
quently. Accordingly, it is presented in the 11th, 12th, 
and 13th verses. Verse 11. " And I saw a great white 
throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth 
and heavens fled away, and there was found no place for 
them." Verse 12. " And I saw the dead, small and great 
stand before God ; and the books were opened, and anoth- 
er book was opened, which is the book of life ; and the 
dead were judged out of the things written in the books 
according to their works. " 

1. The revelator saw a great white throne, and him 
that sat on it. 

2. He saw " the dead," small and great, stand before 
God. 

3. The books were opened, and another book was open- 
ed, which is the book of life. By the testimony of the 
book of life the condition of mankind is to be decided ; 
and by the testimony of the book of their works, their re- 
ward or punishment is to be graduated. 

4. " The dead" were judged. Not those who had been 
dead, but were then alive and before God, but " the dead " 
stood before God; and "the dead" were judged. After 
the judgment is passed, verae 13th, the resurrection is pre- 
sented. " And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, 
and death and hell gave up the dead which were in them j 
and they were judged, (judgment was executed,) every 
man according to their works." 

Nor is this a solitary text which teaches the same doc- 
trine. Heb. ix. 21. '* It is appointed unto men once to 
die, and after this the judgment." Also Acts x. 42. "It is 
he (Christ) which was ordained of God to be the judge of 
quick (those who are alive when he leaves the throne of 
grace) and dead," (those who shall have died before that 
event.) 2 Tim. iv. 1. 'M charge thee, therefore, before 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 27 

God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick 
and the dead at his appearing/' &c. Nor is there a text 
which presents the judicial scene of judgment after the 
resurrection. On the contrary, the scriptures can be har- 
monized on no other principle than that every man's doom 
is fixed before his resurrection. 

There is not, at least I have never found it, a single 
text in the Bible which teaches the doctrine that all man- 
kind shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ in their 
resurrection bodies. These three verses, or the conclud- 
ing part of the twentieth chapter of Revelation, then, so 
far from forming an objection to the explanation given 
above, of the first part of the chapter, is one of the strong- 
est proofs we can desire of its correctness. And it also 
presents a key to many other texts of scripture, without 
which they must be locked up in mystery. 

But if the judgment is to precede the resurrection, then 
we can understand the Savior when he says, " before him 
shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them," 
&c. ; and it perfectly harmonizes with another declara- 
tion, viz. " That he shall send forth his angels with a 
great sound of a trumpet, and gather together his elect 
from the four winds." But if the resurrection is to pre- 
cede the judgment it is impossible to reconcile them with- 
out making all mankind his elect. Again, it explains the 
apostle's meaning when he says, " The dead in Christ 
shall rise first." And also, " They that are his at his com- 
ing." But if I am in error on this point, I will sincerely 
thank any one to show me, either from reason or scripture, 
wherein. 



SECTION II. 

THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS 



Intimately connected with the foregoing, is, what is 
termed the restoration of the Jews. 

The substance of the prevailing opinion on this subject 
is, That the Jews, ihe literal descendants of Jacob, are to 
be gathered from their dispersed condition among the na- 
tions of the earth, and restored to the land of Palestine, 
where they are to enjoy an independent, national govern- 
ment and privileges, among the nations of the earth, never 
to be dispersed again to the end of time. 

If this doctrine can be supported, it must prove fatal to 
the doctrine maintained in these pages. For if this event is 
to take place, then there must be time for its accomplish- 
ment. And it will be worth the while for any man who 
wouM undertake to overthrow the doctrine of the near ap- 
proach of the glorious-, everlasti?ig kingdom of God, to 
pursue this theme, and establish the above position, if it 
can be done. 

And it must be confessed that there are many passages 
of Scripture, which at first view seem to favor the senti- 
ment ; and were there no others to counteract them, or ex- 
plain their meaning, we could arrive at no other conclusion 
than that the Jews must be restored. 

The course which will be pursued in discussing this 
deeply interesting subject, will be, — 1. To examine the 
original promise made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob ; the time when, and the manner in which those 
promises are to be fulfilled. And, — 

2. Examine those texts which are supposed to refer to 
the restoration of the Jews, and show their agreement with 
the original promise. 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 29 

THE ORIGINAL PROMISE. 

The first promise made to Abram and his seed, is re- 
corded Gen. xii. 6, 7. "And Abram passed through the 
land unto the place Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. 
And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord 
appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give 
this land." 

Again, after Lot and Abram separated, the Lord appear- 
ed again to Abram, and said, — Gen. xv. 14, 15, " Lift up 
now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, 
northward and southward, and eastward and westward ; 
for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and 
to thy seed forever. 

After the promise of God to Abram that he should have 
a son, and the offering up of a sacrifice, the Lord made a 
covenant with Abram, Gen. xv. IS, " Saying, Unto thy 
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the 
great river Euphrates." 

Also at the time the Lord gave to Abram the covenant 
of circumcision, and changed his name from Abram to 
Abraham, because he should be a father of many nations, 
he gave him a renewal of the same promise. Gen. xvii. 8. 
" And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the 
land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, 
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 

Once more ; after Abraham had offered up Isaac, the 
Lord appeared and promised, chapter xxii. 18, u And in 
thy seed shall the nations of the earth be blessed," 

On the above promises, it may be proper to remark, 

1. That the land was given to Abraham and to his seed. 
Yet, Stephen said, Acts vii. 5, " He gave him (Abraham) 
no inheritance in it, (the land of Canaan,) no not so much 
as to set his foot on ; yet he promised to give it to him for 
a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he 
had no child." So that the promise to Abraham must either 
fail or be fulfilled in futurity, because he has never yet 
possessed the land of promise. 

2. It was given to Abraham and his seed for an ever- 
lasting possession. But the promise can only be fulfilled 
in an eternal state. For the word everlasting is to be ta- 
ken in its literal grammatical sense. Nothing would be 

3* 



30 THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

gained by saying, it is to be understood in an accommodat- 
ed sense, and only extends to the end of the world. For 
in that sense, it is not true ; neither Abraham nor his seed 
have possessed it even up to the present time; and Abra- 
ham not at all. Yet he is to have it for an everlasting 
possession. It must, therefore, be fulfilled in another state 
of existence. 

But the same promise was renewed to Isaac and Jacob, 
Gen. xxvi. 3, 4. " Sojourn in this land ; and I will be 
with thee, and will bless thee ; for unto thee, and unto thy 
seed, will I give all these countries ; and I will perform 
the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father. And I 
will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and 
will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy 
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. " 

We learn, from this as well as the other texts quoted, 
that the seed to whom the promise was made, was the seed 
in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed. 
But, who doubts but Christ was that seed. Yet, he never 
yet possessed so much of that, or any other land, as to lay 
his head on. 

Gen. xxviii. 13, 14. " And behold the Lord stood above 
it, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father, and the 
God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I 
give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the 
dust of the earth ; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west 
and to the east, and to the north and to the south ; and in 
thee, and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed." The same remarks are appropriate here as on 
the foregoing text. 

THESE PROMISES NOT MADE TO THEIR LITERAL DESCEND- 
ANTS. 

In the 4th chapter of Eomans, Paul enters fully into the 
subject of the promise and covenant made by God to Abra- 
ham and his seed, and proves that the promise was not 
made to his seed through the law ; nor to those only who 
were of the circumcision ; but that the promise was to all 
who were of faith, though they were uncircumcised. He 
proves this by showing, — 1. That the promise was made 
to Abraham, not after his circumcision, but before it. 2. 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 31 

That it was made him on the ground of faith, and not of 
the works of the law ; so that he might be the father of 
all them who believe, though they be not circumcised ; 
and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the 
righteousness of faith, that he might be the father of the 
circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, 
but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father 
Abraham, which he had, being yet uncircumcised. 3. He 
shows that the promise to Abraham and his seed, that he 
should be " heir of the world," (not of the land of Ca- 
naan only,) was not through the law, but through the 
righteousness of faith ; to the end the promise might be 
sure to all the seed : not to that only which is of the law, 
(the Jews,) but to that also which is of the faith of Abra- 
ham, who is the father of us all. 

The promises to which the apostle refers, are evidently 
those above quoted. The promise is not, therefore, to the 
literal descendants of the patriarchs, but to their spiritual 
seed. And this is yet more clearly illustrated by the same 
apostle in Galatians iii. 

1. He shows, verse 8th, that as God was to justify the 
heathen through faith, he preached the gospel to Abraham, 
saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. He shows, 

2. That the seed to whom God made the promises, was 
not to all the literal descendants of Abraham, but to 
Christ. " As of one," and to thy seed, " which is Christ." 

3. That the law and Jewish polity was only ordained 
because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom 
the promise was made. So that at the appearance of 
Christ the distinction between Jew and Gentile was to 
cease ; the Mosaic or Jewish dispensation, and the dis- 
tinctions formed by it, being only of a temporary character. 

4. That Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, are all 
the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. There is 
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, 
there is neither male nor female, known under the gospel 
as being heirs of the promise of God, "for ye are all one 
in Christ Jesus." " And if ye be Christ's, then are ye 
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." 



32 THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 



THE TIME WHEN THESE PROMISES ARE TO BE FULFILLED. 

1. They were not fulfilled to the patriarchs, Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. For Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sojourn- 
ed in the land of promise as in a strange land, dwelling in 
tabernacles. Heb. xi. 9. These also, "all died in the 
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen 
them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced 
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims 
on the earth." verse 12. 

2. They were not fulfilled to the Jews under the Mosaic 
dispensation. For the promise or grant of that inherit- 
ance, was "for an everlasting possession." But the Jews 
have not inherited the land of Canaan even one half of the 
time, since they came out of Egypt, and should they again 
be restored to that land, and retain the possession a thou- 
sand or even 360,000 years, it would not be an " everlast- 
ing possession" 

3. They have not been fulfilled to Christians under the 
Christian dispensation. For Canaan has, during most of 
the Christian dispensation, been in the hands of either hea- 
thens or Mohammedans. Those promises have not, there- 
fore, been fulfilled. 

4. Those promises relate to an heavenly inheritance, and 
are to be fulfilled in an eternal state. Heb. xi. 10. " For 
he (Abraham) looked for a city which had foundation, 
{the New Jerusalem, see Rev. xxi.) whose builder and ma- 
ker is God." Also verses 14th, 16th. " For they that 
say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country. 
But now they desire a better country, that is an heavenly ; 
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for 
he hath prepared for them a city." 

But these promises can only be fulfilled in an eternal 
state, because there can be no such thing as an everlasting 
possession in time. They will be fulfilled, therefore, 
" When the kingdoms of this world shall become the king- 
doms of our Lord and his Christ, (the seed of Abraham to 
whom the promise was made,) and he shall reign forever 
and ever." 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 33 



THE MANNER IN WHICH THOSE PROMISES ARE TO BE FUL- 
FILLED. 

They are to be fulfilled at the resurrection. 

1. The promise of the possession of that land was giv- 
en to Abraham personally, in connection with his seed for 
an everlasting possession. But Abraham has never pos- 
sessed it at all. But, when Moses at the bush, called the 
Lord, " the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God 
of Jacob," he taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
dead, and especially the fact, that those patriarchs would 
live again, and enjoy the fulfilment of the promise made 
them. See Luke xx. 34 — 38. In that state they die no 
more, and may enjoy an eternal, or everlasting inherit' 
ance ; neither do they marry or are they given in marriage, 
but are equal to the angels. Among Abraham's seed, 
there shall be "neither male nor female." 

2. Abraham offered up his son, of whom it was said, 
11 In Isaac shall thy seed be called ; " " accounting that 
God was able to raise him from the dead ; from whence 
also he received him in a figure." Heb. xi. 17 — 19. Is 
it not more than intimated by the above text that it was 
only by a resurrection of the dead, Abraham expected the 
covenant of God to be fulfilled to him and his seed? 

3. Paul, in his plea before Agrippa, Acts xxvi. 6 — 8, de- 
clares "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of 
the promise made of God unto our fathers ; unto which 
promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and 
night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrip- 
pa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought 
a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the 
dead?" He taught the same thing, Acts xxiv. 21, where 
he declared it was the hope of the resurrection for which 
he was called in question. From this text we learn that, 
in the estimation of the apostle, the promise of God to the 
fathers, was a promise of the resurrection ; and further- 
more, that the twelve tribes so understood it, and served 
God with the hope of gaining that blessed state, not a lit- 
eral, earthly inheritance. Other evidence of the same fact 
will appear in the subsequent pages. 

The second point is, to examine those texts which are 



34 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 



supposed to predict the restoration of the Jews to the 
land of Canaan, and shoiv their agreement vjith the origin- 
al promise* 

The first text which presents itself on this point, is, Isa. 
xi. 11, 12. " And it shall come to pass in that day, that the 
Lord shall set his hand again the second time, to recover 
the remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assy- 
ria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Gush, 
and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and 
from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an en- 
sign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Is- 
rael, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the 
four corners of the earth." 

From this text it is argued, — (1.) " That it promises a 
restoration of the Jews. (2.) That that restoration was not 
their deliverance from Babylonish captivity, because that 
deliverance was from Chaldea ; this from the four corners 
of the earth. (3.) That it was to be subsequently to the 
Mosaic dispensation, when a root of Jesse shall stand for 
an ensign to the nations, and to it the Gentiles shall seek. 
But no restoration under the gospel dispensation has yet 
taken place : therefore, it is yet future." 

These three points I admit; and will now show that 
the promise is to be fulfilled in a state of future blessed- 
ness and glory. 

1. It was to be fulfilled, not when the rod out of the 
stem of Jesse became, the Mediator of the world, but when 
he became the Judge. Isa. xi. 1 — 4. " With righteous- 
ness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for 
the meek of the earth ; and he shall smite the earth with 
the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall 
he slay the w T icked." But this separation and destruction 
of the wicked is not to take place until the end of the 
world. Matt. xiii. 

2. It was to be fulfilled when a state of perfect peace 
and purity existed all over the earth. See from verse 5th 
to 9th. "These shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy 
mountain ; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Such a state we 
are not to look for, until, at the coming of the Son of Man, 
the dominion under the whole heaven is given to him. 
Then will be introduced the " glorious rest" promised 
verse 10th, and not before. But, 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 35 

4. The Gentiles as well as Jews are to share in that glo- 
ry ; and for all the nations as well as for Israel and Judah, 
the ensign was to be set up. From these considerations, 
it is evident this text predicts a state of everlasting glory 
in the kingdom of God ; and thus perfectly harmonizes 
with the original promise to the patriarchs. 

Passing over, for the sake of brevity, several texts in 
Jeremiah, the next which will claim attention, is the 36th 
and 37th chapters of Ezekiel. This prophecy is decidedly 
the clearest and strongest passage in the Bible, bearing on 
this point. And if the doctrine of a literal and temporal 
gathering of the Jews to Palestine is taught in the Bible, 
it is in those two chapters. The following are some of the 
promises in the above-named chapters. 

Ezek. xxxvi. viii. x. " But ye, O mountains of Israel, 
ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to 
my people Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, be- 
hold I am for you, and will turn unto you, and ye shall be 
tilled and sown. And I will multiply men upon you, all 
the house of Israel, even all of it. And I will settle you 
after your old estates." 

Again ; verses 24 and 28. For I will take you from 
among the heathen, and will gather you out of all coun- 
tries, and will bring you into your own land." "And ye 
shall dwell in the land that I gave unto your fathers, (Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob,) and ye shall be my people, and I 
will be your God." 

Once more; chap, xxxvii. 21, 22. " And say unto them, 
Thus saith the Lord God, behold I will take the children of 
Israel from among the heathen whither they be gone, and 
will gather them on every side, and will bring them to 
their own land, and I will make them one nation in the 
land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be 
king to them all," &c. 

As the above texts are the strongest evidence the Bible 
affords of the return of the Jews to Palestine : so also, when 
taken in connection with their context, are they a conclu- 
sive argument, that God will fulfil his ancient promise to 
the patriarchs, in the resurrection state, and in a world of 
everlasting blessedness. 

This fact is very clearly illustrated in the 27th chapter, 
where the prophet was presented with a vision of a valley 



36 THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

full of dry bones, and was asked if those bones could live. 
He was then commanded to prophesy to them "and say t 
O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." So he proph- 
esied as he was commanded, first to the bones, on which 
they came together, and flesh and sinews covered them ; 
then he prophesied to the wind to breathe on them, " and 
they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great 
army.' 1 

The vision was then explained, and the prophet was 
told what those bones and their resurrection represented. 
The bones represented the whole house of Israel. Their 
revivification represented, not a mystical, but a literal resur- 
rection of u the whole house of Israel " " from their graves," 
verses 11. 14. " Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my 
people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up 
out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel, 
and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened 
your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your 
graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live," 
&c. I know it is said, this is only a strong figure, to de- 
note the utter desolation to which the Jews have been 
brought; and also to express the magnitude of the work of 
their restoration ; that it is as great as it would be to raise 
them from their graves. 

But I deny the right thus to dispose of the subject: 
there is not a precedent in the Bible for such an interpre- 
tation. I admit that the first ten verses are a figurative 
representation of some future event ; but the four succeed- 
ing verses give a true and literal exposition of the mean- 
ing of those figures. Dan. viii. 20, is an example of the 
same mode of communicating prophetic knowledge. 
* The ram which thou sawest, having two horns, are the 
kings of Media and Persia." The 3d and 4th ver. of Dan. 
viii, were figurative or symbolical representations of future 
events ; but the twentieth verse is a litera 1 explanation of 
these symbols. So in the present case ; the first ten verses 
represent, by symbols, what was to come in futurity, 
and the four succeeding verses explain literally and truly 
what those symbols mean. 

Examples of the same kind might be multiplied to any 
desirable extent; and among them all we shall not find a 
single instance, where the explanation does not give the lit- 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 37 

eral meaning of the symbols. " The whole house of Is- 
rael'' are therefore to be raised ".from their graves, and 
brought into their own land ;" u the land which God 
promised to their fathers, "&c. But who are The "Israel" 
to whom this promise is made ? Not all the literal seed 
of Jacob; "for they are not all Israel, who are of Israel; 
" that is, the children of the flesh, these are not the chil- 
dren of God. But the children of the promise are account- 
ed for the seed, Rom. ix. 6. 8. " The house of Israel" 
and " the seed of Abraham," are, therefore, all the children 
of God, in or by faith in Jesus Christ. At the second com- 
ing of Christ, then, all that are his shall be raised from 
the dead, " For if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's 
seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal. iii. 2. 9. 

That the prophecy refers to an eternal state, is clear 
from such expressions as the following : — 

" And they shall dwell in the land that I have given un- 
to Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt ; 
and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children 
and their children's children, forever; and my servant 
David shall be their prince forever." Verse 25. 

l( Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; 
it shall be an everlasting covenant with thern : and I will 
place them and multiply them, and I will set my sanctuary 
in the midst of them forever more," verse 26, The eterni- 
ty of that state can be expressed no more fully than in 
those texts. They cannot have their fulfilment in time, 
however long the period. And it is equally evident that 
the prophecy is to have its accomplishment in the heavenly 
world. Let the following verse, Ezek. xxxvii. 27, " My 
tabernacle also shall be with them ; yea, I will be their 
God, and they shall be my people," be compared with 
Rev. xxi. 3. " And I heard a great voice out of heaven, 
saying, Behold the tabernacle of god is with men, and 
he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and 
God himself shall be with them, and be their God." If 
this last text introduces us to an eternal state, so also 
does the former : for the one cannot be fulfilled without 
accomplishing the other. And it can be shown with 
equal clearness, that every text in the Old Testament, which 
is generally quoted to sustain the doctrine of the restora- 
tion of the Jews, refers to the same glorious event, the. 
4 



38 THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

EVERLASTING GLORIFICATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS. But it will 

be unnecessary in this place to enter into an examination 
of them. 

There is, however, one text in the New Testament, fre- 
quently quoted, which demands a passing notice : 

Rom. ii. 25, 26. " For I would not, brethren, that ye 
should be ignorant of this mystery [lest ye should be wise 
in your own conceits,] that blindness in part is happened 
to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 
and so all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, There 
shall come out of Sion a deliverer, and shall turn away un- 
godliness from Jacob/ ' 

Remark 1. The time when all Israel shall be saved: 
When " the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ;" "fulness 
of the Gentiles" signifies the full complement of Gentiles. 
When, therefore, all the Gentiles who are to be saved, 
have come in, and not before, u all Israel shall be saved." 
It cannot take place, therefore, until Christ comes in the 
clouds of heaven to gather his elect from the four winds. 
See Luke xxi. 24—27. " And they [the Jews] shall fall 
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive 
into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of 
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." 
The Jews cannot, therefore, return and rebuild Jerusalem 
until the Gentile day is ended. No more Gentiles will be 
brought in after that. But the Saviour continues, and tells 
us what shall take place when the times of the Gentiles is 
fulfilled. " And there shall be signs in the sun, and in 
the moon, and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of 
nations, with perplexity ; the sea and waves roaring ; men's 
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those 
things which are coming on the earth ; for the powers of 
heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son 
of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory." 

So that the Jews will never be gathered from their dis- 
persion, nor Jerusalem be rebuilt until Christ comes to 
gather his elect. And then f all [spiritual] Israel will be 
saved." 

'Remark 2. The Jews were cut off or cast away from 
their exclusive church privileges, for the reconciling of the 
world. For while they remained the exclusive church, as 
before Christ they were, the Gentile world could not be 



THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 39 

brought in and share those privileges and blessings. And 
that is the only sense in which the Jews have been cut off, 
or cast away. For they have always had an equal chance 
with the rest of the world to obtain and enjoy gospel bless- 
ings, and a remnant have always been in possession of 
them. And in this light the apostle, with great propriety 
and force, inquires, Rom. xi. 15, " If the casting away of 
them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiv- 
ing of them be but life from the dead." As if he had 
said, If the Gentile world could not be reconciled or 
brought within the pale of the church, without rejecting- 
or casting off the Jews from exclusive privileges, how 
can they ever be restored until they rise from the 
dead, without again cutting off the whole world beside?" 

Finally; If the text, " All Israel shall be saved," has any 
reference to the Jew^, as such, it asserts the final univer- 
sal salvation of all the tribes of Israel, and it is impossible 
to disprove it. But the Lord Jesus Christ did assert, that 
while the Jews should see some, from the east, west, north, 
and south sit down in the kingdom of God with Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, they themselves should be thrust out. 
Luke xiii. 28, 29. Paul also testified that there was no re- 
spect of persons with God. But to every one who does 
good he will award eternal life ; to the Jew first, then also 
to the Gentile. But tribulation and anguish to every one 
that doeth evil, to the Jew first, and then also to the Gen- 
tile. 

It must therefore be spiritual, not literal Israel, who will 
"all be saved" when the fulness of the Gentiles be come 
in. May we all be of that happy number. 

I have now done what I proposed, viz. to show that those 
texts ivhich are supposed to refer to a future and temporal 
restoration of the Jews, do perfectly harmonize with the 
original promise made to the patriarchs, of a resurrection 
from the dead, to possess an eternity of blessedness in the 
New Jerusalem. 

The two most formidable objections having been dispo- 
sed of, the way is now open to proceed to the evidence 
of the near approach of the kingdom of God. For if there 
is to be a temporal millenium, and the Jews are to be re- 
stored, such a kingdom as that predicted by the prophets, 
Jesus Christ and his apostles, cannot be near : but it has 



40 THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

been shown, above, that no such millenium or restoration 
of the Jews is promised, or to be looked for ; therefore we 
rnay look u for that blessed hope, and the glorious appear- 
ing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 



SECTION III. 

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 



A FALLING AWAY AND REVELATION OF THE MAN OF SIN, BE* 
FORE THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

The apostle Paul, in his second epistle to the Thessalo- 
nians, and second chapter, instructed his brethren con- 
cerning " the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our 
gathering together unto him." He warned them not to 
be deceived by any means, nor to be troubled, as that the 
day of the Lord was then at hand. He then proceeded to 
assure them, that that day should not come until after 
" a falling away" or an apostacy, and the revelation of 
" that man of sin.''* " Now ye know, " he said, " what pre- 
vented, that he (Christ) might be revealed in his time," 
the time foretold by Daniel, when he predicted the same 
man of sin, under the emblem of a little horn, chapters 7th 
and 8th of his prophecy. 

Although, in the apostles' days, the mystery of iniquity 
already worked, yet there were circumstances which stood 
in the way of his full exaltation, and they would continue 
to hinder it, until taken out of the way. Then, when the 
hinderance should be removed, " that wicked " should be 
revealed ; who should be consumed " with the spirit of his 
[the Lord's) mouth, (moral influence,) and be destroyed by 
the brightness of his coming." When, then, it can be 
shown that what is predicted of " the man of sin " has 
been accomplished, with the exception of the last circum- 
stance, viz. his destruction, by the brightness of Christ's 
coming, we shall have evidence of the near approach of 
4* 



42 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 

that event. The apostle only brought forward the predic- 
tion of the man of sin, to assure the world that that day- 
was not at hand, until those predictions were fulfilled ; and 
the only just inference is, that when those predictions 
are accomplished the day of the Lord is near. 

Allusion has been made above, to the little horn of Dan- 
iel's visions, as being identical with " the man of sin " of 
2 Thess. 2d chapter. That they are so is evident from 
the fact, that the same character is ascribed to one which 
is given to the other. 

" That man of sin " was to "exalt himself above all 
that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, 
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is 
God." 

The little horn, also, Dan. vit. 25th, was to speak great 
words against the Most High, and wear out the saints of 
the Most High," &c. Again; Dan. viii. 11th, it is said, 
4< He magnified himself against the prince of the host." 
Verse 25th ; " He shall stand up against the prince of 
princes," &c. 

Having thus identified " that man of sin" with " the lit- 
tle horn " of Daniel's vision, I will now show that they 
are to come to an end by the same means, viz. the coming 
of Christ. 

daniel's vision of the four great beasts. 

The seventh chapter of Daniel, under the emblem of 
four great beasts, with their various characteristics, pre- 
dicted a long series of events, extending from his time to 
the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, to 
possess his glorious, everlasting kingdom. He first saw 
four great beasts come up from the sea, diverse one from 
the other. The first was like a lion ; and it had eagles' 
wings. The second was like a bear, and it raised itself 
up on one side ; and it had three ribs in the mouth of it. 
Another beast appeared, like a leopard, with four wings 
upon the back of it, like a fowl : the beast had also four 
heads ; and dominion was given to it. 

The fourth beast was "a dreadful and terrible beast, 
and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth, and it 
devoured and brake in pieces and stamped the residue 



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 43 

with the feet of it ; and it was diverse from all the beasts 
that were before it ; and it had ten horns. And there 
came up among them another little horn, before whom 
there were three of the first horns plucked up by the 
roots ; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of 
a man, and a mouth speaking very great things. He saw 
until all these thrones were cast down and the ancient of 
days did sit. The judgment also sat, and the books were 
opened. He then saw the beast (all his appendages or 
horns of course included) slain, (destroyed) and his body 
given to the burning flame. And one like the Son of Man 
came in the clouds of heaven, and there was given him 
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and 
nations, and languages, should serve him. His dominion 
is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away ; 
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 

The explanation of this vision is given in the 17th verse. 
" These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which 
shall arise out of the earth." Verse 18th ; " but the saints 
of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the 
kingdom forever, even forever and ever." 

That the four kings, or kingdoms, represented by the 
beasts were, — 1. The Chaldean, — 2. The Medo-Persian, 
— 3. The Macedonian, — 4. The Roman governments, is so 
universally acknowledged, that I shall not at all dwell on 
it. But the fourth of those beasts, which is to continue 
until then, is to be destroyed or slain and given to the 
burning flame, at the judgment, and when the Son of Man 
comes to possess his everlasting kingdom. The little horn 
of the beast must of necessity share the same fate. Thus, 
" the little horn" and "that man of sin" are to come to 
their end at the same time and by the same means. 

the time, times, and dividing of time, of daniel vii. 25th. 

The ftfurth beast was of such a peculiar character, that 
Daniel became deeply interested in it, and wished to know 
its character, and the meaning of its ten horns. But the 
little horn which came up among them, and before whom 
three of the first horns were plucked up by the root ; the 
horn which had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things ; 



44 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 

and which made war on the saints and overcame them, 
possessed peculiar interest. These points were explained 
to him thus: — " The fourth beast shall be the fourth king- 
dom upon the earth, &c. The ten horns out of this king- 
dom are ten kings, which shall arise ; and another shall 
rise after them, and he shall subdue three kings. ; And he 
shall speak great words against the Most High, shall wear 
out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times 
and laws : and they shall be given into his hand, until a 
time, times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment 
shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion to consume 
and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and 
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of 
the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
and all dominions shall serve and obey him." 

Thus it appears the little horn was to be the last form of 
the Roman government. And his power was to exist for 
a time, times, and the dividing of time. Then his domin- 
ion was to be taken away, but not to be entirely destroyed. 
But, from its fall, it was to consume unto the end, when 
the everlasting kingdom of God is to be set up. 

I shall now demonstrate that the little horn represented 
the papal power ; and that the time, times, and a half sig- 
nify three and a half years of 360 days each, the whole 
being 1260 days : and that each day stands for a full 
year. Also, that those 1260 years of papal rule have 
been accomplished, and that his dominion has been taken 
away. 

H A prophecy^is demonstrated to be fulfilled when we can 
show from unimpeachable authority, that the event has ac- 
tually taken place, precisely according to the manner in 
which it was foretold." — Horn's Introduction, Compendi- 
um, page 147. 

In demonstrating the nature and fulfilment of the time, 
times, and dividing of time, it will be necessary to prove, 
(1) That four such kingdoms, as predicted by the four 
beasts, have succeeded each other, and filled up all the 
time, from Daniel to the present. (2) That out of the 
fourth of those kingdoms, ten distinct kingdoms originated. 
(3) That three of those ten kingdoms fell or were plucked 
up. (4) That the saints were, by a formal act, given over 



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 45 

into the hands of a blasphemous, persecuting power, and 
that the fall of the third of those kingdoms opened the 
way for carrying into effect that act. (5) That 1260 years 
from the point where all the above circumstances concur- 
red, the dominion of that blasphemous, persecuting power, 
was taken away. And (6) That from its being thus taken 
away, although again partially restored, it has been steadily 
declining up to the present time. These six points sus- 
tained, and the above propositions are demonstrated. 

1. Four kingdoms have existed, viz. The Chaldean, the 
Medo-Persian, the Macedonian,- and the Roman, and filled 
up the whole period from Daniel to us. But no other four 
kingdoms on earth have thus succeeded each other, and 
filled up that period. Hence, these four kingdoms an- 
swer the description, and no others do ; they must, there- 
fore, be the predicted kingdoms, which are to be succeeded 
by the everlasting kingdom of God. But the last, or Ro- 
man beast, has not yet been given to the burning flame, 
therefore, the kingdom of God is not established. 

2. There have been ten distinct kingdoms within the 
bounds of the fourth or Roman government. The first 
ten kingdoms originated within that government, were as 
follows: (1) The Huns, in Hungary, established, A. D. 
356. (2) The Ostrogoths, in Mysia, A. D. 377. (3) The 
Visgoths, in Pannonia, A. D. 378. (4) The Franks, in 
France, A. D. 407. (5) The Vandals, in Africa, A. D. 
407. (6) The Sueves and Alans, in Gascoyne and Spain, 
A. D. 407. (7) The Burgundians, in Burgundy, A. D. 
407. (8) The Heruli, in Italy, A. D. 476. (9) The 
Saxons and Angles, in Britain, A. D. 476. (10) The 
Lombards on the Danube, in Germany, A. D. 483. This 
list of kingdoms, as the first ten, is given on the authority 
of Marchiaval, a historian, and Dr. Hales and Bishop 
Lloyd, chronologers. It may perhaps be objected, " the 
above are not the only ones which have existed within the 
old Roman empire. " True, they are not; but if they are 
the first ten established there, they answer the description 
given by the prophet. For it was three of the first horns, 
which were to be plucked up by the roots. Besides, we 
are to take the events of the government as they transpired, 
and when the event predicted is exactly answered, we have 
done with it on that point. It matters not what other king- 
doms have existed subsequently. 



46 



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 



3. Three of those ten kingdoms have been plueked up by 
the roots, before or to prepare the way for the establishment 
of another {little) horn. 

The authority for the historical facts on this point, is 
Gibbon's History of the decline and fall of the Roman 
empire. The first of the ten kingdoms which fell, was 
the kingdom of the Heruli, in Italy. Their kingdom was 
subverted by the Ostrogoths, A. D. 493, ten years after 
the last of the term was established. The second which 
fell, was the Vandal kingdom, in Africa. This was con- 
quered by the army of Justinian, emperor of Constantino- 
ple under the command of Belisarius, his general, A. D. 
534. The third was the Ostrogothic kingdom, in Italy, 
which was conquered also by Justinian's army, under 
Belisarius, A. D. 538. The war commenced 536 ; and 
March, 538, the Ostrogoths raised the siege of the city of 
Rome and retired, leaving it in peaceable possession of 
Belisarius. Thus the third point was accomplished, A. D. 
538, in the month of March. 

4. The saints were, by a formal act 9 given over into the 
hands of a blasphemous, persecuting power ; and the fall 
of the Ostrogothic kingdom opened the way for the carry- 
ing of that decree into ffeect. In A. D. 534, Justinian, 
emperor of Constantinople, published a new code of laws 
for his empire, regulating and settling some difficult points 
of jurisprudence. — Ruter's Church History, page 138. 
Among other edicts, was one declaring the Bishop of Rome 
the head of all the churches. — Justin. Novell. Lit. 14. 
Constitut. cap. 2. Thus the saints were, by a formal edict 
of the Greek emperor, given into the hands of the Roman 
pontiff, 534. But Rome was at that time in the hands of 
an Arian monarch, and a most bitter enemy of the Roman 
Catholic church and the pretensions of the Pope. 

Nor had the three horns, or kingdoms, yet fallen ; but 
in 538, the third, or Ostrogothic kingdom, did fall, and the 
Arian power was removed from Rome : the city also came 
into the possession of the same power which had constitut- 
ed the bishop of Rome head of all the churches. Thus all 
that was predicted to precede the commencement of the 
time, times, and dividing of time, was brought to a focus ; 
therefore, that period must commence at that time. 

That the Papal power has done all that is ascribed to 



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 47 

the little horn, by the prophet, is so well understood at the 
present time, that it needs no further evidence. But if any 
doubt it, let them read Smith's " Downfall of Babylon," 
or u McGavin's Protestant." 

5. The dominion of the Papal power was taken away 
just 1260 years from the above occurrence, 538. From 
A. D. 538—1460 years will bring us to A. D. 1798. At 
that time, General Berthier, a French general, with a 
French Republican army, entered Rome, took possession 
of the city, deposed the Pope, abrogated the whole Papal 
government, instituted in its place a Republican form of 
government, and carried the Pope a captive to France, 
where, in 1799, he died. Thus the dominion of the little 
horn, which was to continue a time, times, and the dividing 
of time, continued 1260 years, viz: from A. D. 538 to A. 
D. 1798. Therefore, a time, is a year of 360 days ; times, 
two years, of the same length ; and the dividing of time 
half a year ; the whole making 1260 days, and each day 
standing for a year ; the whole period being 1260 years. 
Again ; the Papal power existed just that time, and was 
then taken away ; therefore, the Papal power is the king- 
dom predicted by the little horn of Daniel's fourth beasi. 

6. From 1798, when the Papal dominion was taken 
away, and God's great judgments were pouerd upon Papal 
Europe, the Papal power and influence, although nominal- 
ly restored, has been steadily consuming, up to the present 
time. 

This point is so evident and so fully before the commu- 
nity, that it is needless to present evidence on the point. 
Popery is the mere shadow of what it once was ; nor can 
it, by any artifice, ever again resume its former vigor and 
power. It is a plant of darkness ; it cannot live and flour- 
ish under the flood of light and liberty which irradiates 
almost every point of our earth. Protestants are now 
tolerated in every Papal kingdom on the continent of 
Europe. 

It only remains, then, that the body of the beast should 
be slain and given to the burning flame, to introduce the 
glorious, everlasting kingdom of God in all the earth. Is 
not the evidence decisive, then, that the kingdom of 
Heaven is at hand I I have now done what I proposed, 
and here I rest the cause. I challenge the world to re- 



48 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 

fute the above argument. And, until it can be done, we 
have indubitable evidence that the kingdom of Heaven is 
at the very door. The apostle's argument, that in his day, 
" the day of the Lord" was not at hand, finds no place 
here ; on the contrary, that very argument is incontroverti- 
ble evidence, that it is now at hand, that we should con- 
stantly look for the brightness of his coming, for the de- 
struction of " that man of sin." 

" The time, times, and a half" has long been a subject 
of deep interest to prophetic expositors ; and labored 
arguments and deep research have been expended to fix 
the time of its commencement, with the expectation that 
when that was done, they would be able to find the end 
of the Millenium. The time most generally fixed upon at 
the present time, to begin the period, is, A. D. 606, when 
the emperor Phocas conferred on the Koman pontiff the 
title of Universal Bishop. And from that date they fix 
on A. D. 1866, as the time when their anticipated 
millenium is to be ushered in. But it must be obvious 
to every reader of their theory, that the argument by 
which it is supported is very vague and indefinite. The 
only reason, indeed, which they can assign for fixing on 
606, as the time for beginning the 1260 years, is the 
one above named, viz. That the Pope received the title 
of universal bishop at that time. They do not attempt 
to show the concurrence of a single circumstance be- 
side, predicted by the prophet to precede it, and point 
out the time. But what does the grant of Phocas amount 
to ? Just nothing at all. Dr. Ruter remarks, (Ch. Hist, 
p. 142,) that " this title, however, was unaccompanied by 
any new powers, and only served to increase the ani- 
mosity which invariably subsisted between the patriarchs 
of Rome and Constantinople. " Nor did the conferring 
of that title give the saints into his hand. " Moreover, 
they had been given into his hand 68 years before, and we 
shall in vain look for another such grant of power over 
them." 

The foregoing argument, I believe, will stand the test of 
the most rigid criticism. And until it is proved unsound 
by argument , (for time can have no effect on it, for it is all 
matter of history,) whatever may become of the oalcula- 
tion in this work, on the events of futurity, I must still be- 



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 49 

lieve the kingdom of God is just at hand, and continue to 
look for and hasten to its coming. 

IDENTITY OF THE APOCALYPTIC BEAST, REV. XIII, WITH 
THE LITTLE HORN. 

The great similarity between the characters of the beast, 
described Kev. 13th chapter, and the little horn, Daniel 7th 
chapter, must be obvious to every reader. For instance, — 

1. The little horn was to be a blasphemous power. Dan. 
vii : 25. "He shall speak great words against the Most 
High." The beast also was to do the same thing. — Rev. 
xiii : 6. " He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God." 

2. The little horn was to make war with the saints, and 
prevail against them. — Dan. vii : 21. The beast also was 
to make war with the saints, and overcome them. — Rev. 
xiii : 7. 3. The little horn, Dan. vii : 8, 20, had a mouth 
which spake great things. So also it was with the beast, 
Rev. xiii : 5. 4. Power was given the little horn, for a 
time, times, and the dividing of time, (1260 years) — Dan. 
vii : 25. So also power was given to the beast to continue 
42 months. — Rev. xiii: 6. 5. The dominion of the little 
horn was to be taken away at the end of the specified pe- 
riod. — Dan. vii : 26. So also the beast, which had led into 
captivity and conquered by the sword many of the princes 
of the earth, as well as heretics, was, at the expiration of 
the 42 months, to go into captivity and be overthrown or 
killed by the sword, or vicissitudes of war. And how truly 
was the prediction fulfilled, when, in 1798, the French 
abrogated the Papal government, and established in its 
place a Republic ; and also when the Pope, the life and 
soul of the Papal government, was carried a captive to 
France. 

The apocalyptic beast and little horn must, therefore, 
mean one and the same thing, viz. The Papal system. 
And so also the 42 months, and time, times and a half, are 
the same, viz. 1260 years. 

THE TWO HORNED BEAST, AND IMAGE OF THE BEAST. 

The idea, that, at the expiration of the 1260 years, the 
Papal svstem was, or is, rather to be abolished, seems to 

5 



50 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 

have but very little foundation in Scripture. The prophet 
Daniel taught that after its fall it was to consume away unto 
the end. The Revelator also m ore than intimates the same 
thing. Rev. xiii : 11 — 17. — " And I saw another beast 
coming up out of the earth ; and he had two horns like a 
lamb, but he spake like a dragon. And he exerciseth all 
the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the 
earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship the first 
beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth 
great wonders, so that he maketh fire to come down from 
heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth 
them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles 
which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, 
saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should 
make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the 
sword, and did live. And he had power to give life to the 
image of the beast, that the image of the beast should 
both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship 
the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth 
all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free 
and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in 
their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, 
save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, 
or the number of his name." 

A beast, is the emblem of a human government. A 
horn of a beast, a division or part of the government; 
as the ten horns of the fourth beast, in Daniel's vision, 
and the two horns of the ram in the 8th chapter of 
Daniel, or the four horns of the goat in the same chapter. 

So also the beast which came up out of the earth, after 
the captivity and death by the sword, of the first beast, 
was a human government. His two horns, two distinct 
divisions of that government. But has such a government 
as the above arisen since 1798 ? I answer, Yes. The 
Buonapartean government was such an one. He rose 
from obscurity, step by step, until he gained the imperial 
throne of France. But his government, like the Medo- 
Persian, had two horns, or kingdoms, under one ruler. 
1. He was crowned emperor of France, Dec. 2d, 1804. 
. And on the 26th of May, 1805, he was crowned king 
of Italy. " He spake like a dragon." Although he pro- 
fessed to be governed by the most liberal and republican 



o 



THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 51 

principles, yet he meditated, like the old Roman govern- 
ment before him, universal dominion, and ruled with a 
tyrant's rod. " He exercised all the power of the first 
beast." He conquered, during his reign, nil the papal do- 
minions. He also restored popery, the first beast, and 
made it the religion of his dominions. 

" He doeth great wonders, — causeth fire to come down 
from heaven," &c. That he ever did cause fire to come 
down from heaven, I have no evidence: but historians re- 
late of him, that when he was in Egypt, he did say to the 
Mahommedans, " 1 can command a car of fire from heaven, 
and I can direct its course. " And also by some means, 
while there, he gained the appellation of " Sultan Keber" 
King of Fire. But that he performed wonders or prodi- 
gies, no one who reads his history will doubt. 

He commanded to make an image to the beast, &c. 
When he restored popery and made it the religion of his 
dominions, he modelled it to his own liking : it was not 
what it once was, but what he pleased. It was not the 
old beast, merely restored, but its image, and bearing its 
name. So that popery, that now is, is but an image of 
what it once was. To this image he had power to give 
life, and did give it; and cause it to live and speak, and 
impose civil disabilities on all the subjects of his empire 
who would not worship it, and receive its mark in their 
hand or foreheads. Such then is the history of popery 
since its fall in 1798. And it still lives. 

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST AND NUMBER OF HIS NAME. 

Much labor has been expended on this point, but as we 
have determined the question, who the beast is, we may 
with more certainty determine the number of his name. 
Among all the names which have been found, the numeri- 
cal letters of which amount to 666, I am the best satisfied 
with that given in Clarke's Commentary on the passage. 

THE LATIN KINGDOM. 



00 © »— i O O © GO NhOOOIOOh ICO 

CO © «— ' *0 © •— 1 CO rH ICO 

CO <M I CD 



s h -» * s- cq a b *^ <« 



52 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AT HAND. 

The Papal power was emphatically a Latin government, 
so far as language and location are concerned, in a sense 
in which no other power has been. And it is a name by 
which they have always been distinguished from the 
Greeks. " The Latins" is a well-known name of the Ro- 
man church. I did once think it was pagan Rome, and 
the number of the beast, the number of years from their 
first league with the Jews, B. C. 158, to the conversion of 
the Ostrogothic king to Christianity, A. D. 508: but am 
now satisfied it was an error. The dragon, chapter 12th, 
is the representative of the civil Roman government. That 
Dragon, when the seat of government was removed to 
Constantinople, gave up his seat to the beast ; ecclesiasti- 
cal or Anti-Christian Rome. " The Dragon gave the 
beast his seat and power and great authority. " Imperial 
Rome made the beast; and Imperial France, the image of 
the beast. 



SECTION IV. 

THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED— OR, EPOCH OF THE KING- 

DOM. 



DESIGN OF THE DIFFERENT VISIONS OF DANIEL. 

Having already shown, from the seventh chapter of 
Daniel and other portions of scripture, that the time of the 
establishment of the universal, everlasting kingdom of 
God is near, the way is now prepared for the discussion of 
another point, viz. the epoch of the kingdom. 

The first revelation of the events of futurity made to Dan- 
iel, was communicated to him in relation to Nebuchadnez- 
zar's dream, Dan. 2d chapter. That divine communication 
assures us, that after the existence of four such kingdoms 
as those predicted in that dream, the God of heaven will set 
up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. But that 
revelation gave no intimation of the changes which were 
to take place in those kingdoms, and the time of the reign 
or triumph of the various powers, as signs of the approach 
of that kingdom : — This deficiency, however, was supplied 
by the vision in the seventh chapter, where the various 
changes of the Roman kingdom are pointed out, and the 
specific period of the reign of the little horn, as the precur- 
sor of the kingdom of God, is distinctly named. The 
exact fulfilment of those 1260 years, and the subsequent 
events, affords conclusive evidence of the near approach of 
the glorious event. But yet a deficiency remains : — No 
intimation is given in either of the foregoing revelations as 
to the time when the great work is to be accomplished, 
and the kingdom be established. But the vision in the 
eighth chapter supplies this deficiency. 

The vision in the eighth chapter, unlike the former, 
commences with the reign of the Medo-Persian monarchy, 
5* 



54 THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED 

The design of the vision of the four beasts, was, to give a 
connected chain of events from the days of Daniel, down 
to the little horn of the fourth beast, and his destruction at 
the second coming of Christ ; and also to give the time of 
his reign, as a part of the Roman beast, together with the 
circumstances which are to fix the date of the 1260 years. 
The little horn, his character and conduct, having been 
thus predicted ; the next vision is designed to present his 
origin, and the means by which he should become mighty, 
and also to determine the time of his destruction. 

THE RAM AND GOAT HIS FOUR HORNS AND THE LITTLE HORN. 

Dan. 8th chap, verses 3, 4. " Then I lifted up mine 
eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river 
a ram which had two horns ; and the two horns were 
high ; but one was higher than the other ; and the higher 
came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and 
northward, and southward ; so that no beast might stand 
before him, neither was there any that could deliver out 
of his hand ; but he did according to his will, and became 
great." The above is explained, verse 20th. "The ram 
which thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of 
Media and Persia." The kingdoms of the Medes and 
Persians were united under Cyrus, the Persian general, by 
whom Babylon was taken, and became one of the most 
powerful kingdoms of antiquity. 

Verses 5 — 8. " And as I was considering, behold, an 
he-goat came from the west, on the face of the whole 
earth, and he touched not the ground ; and the goat had a 
notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram, — 
and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw 
him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with 
choler against him, and smote the ram, and break his two 
horns ; — and there was none that could deliver the ram out 
of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed great: and 
when he was strong the great horn was broken ; and for 
it came up four notable ones, toward the four winds of 
heaven." This passage is explained in the 21st and 22d 
verses. ** And the rough goat is the king of Grecia ; and 
the great horn that is between his eyes, is the first king. 
Now that being broken, whereas, four stood up for it, four 



OR, EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM. 55 

kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but riot in his 
power." All expositors, I believe, are agreed that this 
text points out the Macedonian kingdom ; and the notable 
horn, Alexander the great; who in the height of his con- 
quests, suddenly died at Babylon, and whose dominion 
was divided among four of his generals, towards the four 
winds. Persia in the east ; Macedon or Greece in the 
west; Syria in the north; and Egypt in the south. For 
further particulars, see Rollin's Ancient History. 

Verse 9 — 12th. " And out of one of them came forth a 
little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, 
and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And 
it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and it cast 
down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and 
stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to 
the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was 
taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 
And an host was given him against the daily by reason of 
transgression, and it cast down truth to the ground, and it 
practised and prospered. " The above is explained, verses 
23d — 25th. "And in the latter time of their kingdom, 
when the transgressor is come to the full, a king of fierce 
countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand 
up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own 
power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall pros- 
per, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the 
holy people. And through his policy also, he shall cause 
craft to prosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself 
in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many : he shall 
also stand up against "the Prince of princes ; but he shall 
be broken without hand." 

The question to be discussed, is, Who or what is repre- 
sented by the little horn, which came forth out of one of 
the four notable horns ? 

Some say, " Antiochus Epiphanes." But to this I ob- 
ject — 1. Because Antiochus, instead of being another 
kingdom, growing out of the Syrian government, was that 
horn or government itself. 2. It never has yet been 
shown that Antiochus trod under foot, as it is assumed he 
did, the sanctuary and the host, for 2300 days. It is not 
known precisely, how long he oppressed the Jews. But 
if the period is 2300 literal days, those who thus apply 
it are bound tp show a literal fulfilment. 



56 THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED — 

Others, still, say it is Mahommedism, and that it arose in 
the southern division of Alexander's empire, Arabia. To 
this I reply, Arabia was never any part of Alexander's 
empire. Says Bishop Newton, Alexander made vast prep- 
arations for conquering Arabia, but death cut him short. 
Mahommedism did not, therefore, come out of one branch of 
Alexander's empire, but the little horn here predicted did. 

Again, it is said, " It is Mahommedism, and it came out 
of the northern division, Syria: Because in Syria, its first 
exploits were performed." I deny it. And even if it 
could be proved that its " first drama of wickedness " was 
acted in Syria, still an insurmountable difficulty remains. 
Mahommedism did not originate in or come out of Syria, 
but Arabia. And in Arabia the Mahommedan religion 
was first promulgated and gained a footing. 

What, then, is represented by the little horn ? I reply, 
In the seventh chapter it has been demonstrated to mean 
the Papal system. And it means the same thing in this 
place. 

The little horn was to come out of one of the notable horns 
in the "latter time of their (the four horns) kingdom, 
when the transgressors (northern barbarians) had come 
to the full." A. D. 325, Constantine, the Roman emperor, 
became sole master of the Roman world, and from that time 
openly and decidedly espoused the Christian cause. From 
that time a flood of worldly riches, honor and power, 
flowed in upon the church. The man of sin began rapidly 
to develope himself. A. D. 330, he removed the seat 
of empire from Rome to Byzantium, and honored it with 
his own name, calling it Constantinople. After the death 
of Constantine, which happened A. D. 337, the Roman 
empire was divided between the three sons of Constantine. 
Constantius inherited the eastern division, and possessed 
his father's throne, in Constantinople. Constantine and 
Constans inherited the western empire. The Greek king- 
dom had again become an independent government under 
Constantius. But, A. D. 353, his two brothers both being 
dead, the whole empire came into his hands, and the Roman 
empire was again united. But, A. D. 356, the Huns, a 
barbarous nation, invaded the Roman empire and estab- 
lished themselves in Hungary. This event was followed 
by the establishment, between 356 and 483, of nine other 



OR, EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM. 57 

independent kingdoms within the Roman empire. But, 
during all this time, the eastern or Greek empire, as it was 
called, remained entire and independent. This was not 
the first time of the Greek kindgom's independence after 
Alexander's death; nor the last; but the latter. The first 
time was after the death of Alexander, until conquered by 
the Romans. The Latter time, from the death of Constan- 
tine to the Ottoman conquest. The last time, partially, 
since the Greek revolution, but principally yet in the 
future, after the fall of the Ottoman power. It was this 
Greek empire which became the promoter of the Papal 
usurpations; from the days of Constantine, when he first 
removed the seat of empire to the east, until the days of 
Justinian, when, A. D. 534, he constituted the Bishop of 
Rome head of all the churches, and, 533, conquered Rome 
and established the pope in his see. It was in this way, 
the little Papal horn came out of the Greek empire, one of 
the four horns of the Goat, in the latter time of their 
kingdom. The power of this Papal horn became " mighty, 
but not by his own power. " 1. The greatness of the pope, 
as an ecclesiastical power, was conferred on him by the 
Greek emperor, Justinian. 2. The same emperor con- 
quered the Ostrogoths to make way for the pope. 3. He 
defended him against his enemies after he possessed Rome. 
4. Pepin, king of France, in 755, conquered the Exarchote 
of Ravenna and conferred it on the pope in perpetual sove- 
reignty; thus constituting him a temporal prince. Other 
acts of assistance might be brought forward to almost any 
extent. But the foregoing are deemed sufficient to prove 
and illustrate the point, that the Roman pontiff did not be- 
come mighty by his own power, but by the power of others. 
" He waxed exceeding great, toward the east, toward the 
south, and toward the pleasant land." The Crusades 
established the Papal power in all Syria, and part of Asia 
Minor, and even erected the banner of the cross on Mount 
Zion. And where has not the Papal power been felt? 

" He magnifies himself, even to the host of heaven, " fyc. 
He assumed to be the sole church of God. " He cast down 
some of the host, and of the stars, and stampt on them." 
He persecuted the saints, and trod them in the dust. "He 
magnified himself even to the Prince of the host." He as- 
sumed to be the Vicegerent of Jesus Christ, and to possess 
and exercise the prerogatives of the Son of God. 



58 THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED 

" By him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the 
place of his sanctuary was cast down. 11 

" By him the daily " the word sacrifice, not being in the 
original. This term is of frequent occurrence in the book 
of Daniel, and it will be necessary to ascertain its true 
meaning. What then did the Anti-Christian or Papal 
abomination remove to make way for itself? What was 
it that let or hindered until he was taken out of the way? 
I answer, Paganism. For, although the empire was nom- 
inally Christian most of the time from the days of Con- 
stantine, yet Paganism continued to maintain itself in 
Rome, and Pagan sacrifices were offered there until the 
conversion of the Ostrogoths to Christianity, about A. D. 
508, since which time we have no account of any public 
Pagan sacrifices being offered in the city of Rome. u The 
place of Paganism's sanctuary" was then cast down, and 
in its place a new system of idolatry was set up, viz. the 
worship of saints and images. So that these Pagan con- 
querors, when they embraced the Christian religion, only 
exchanged one system of idolatry for another. But by 
the fall of Paganism, the way began to open for the estab- 
lishment of the Papal pretentions. 

" An host was given him against the daily sacrifice, by 
reason of transgression." The energies of the church 
were directed by the aspiring pontiffs, against Pagan in- 
stitutions, and to bring the Pagans over to the Christian 
faith. 

"And it cast down truth to the ground, and it practis- 
ed and prospered." The papal power trampled on the 
word of God, corrupted all the doctrines of the gospel, im- 
posed on men's consciences, burdens, heavy and intolera- 
ble to be borne ; persecuted and put to death all who 
would not submit to the yoke. Thus far the prophetic 
emblems. And from them we learn that the little horn in 
this vision is the same as in the former, the Papal power. 
And from the 25th verse, we learn that he is to have the 
same end. " He shall stand up against the Prince of 
Princes ; but he shall be broken without hand." He shall 
be destroyed without human intervention, by Divime pow- 
er. He shall be slain and given to the burning flame. 
He shall be destroyed by the brightness of the Lord's com- 
ing, &c. 



OR, EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM. 59 



THE TIME WHEN THE SANCTUARY SHALL BE CLEANSED. 

" Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint 
said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall 
be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the trans- 
gression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the 
host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Un- 
to 2300 days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." It 
seems there were two great systems of abomination which 
were to afflict the church ; " the daily, and the transgres* 
sion of desolation ; " Pagan worship, and Pagan supersti- 
tion and oppression. The inquiry arose, how long shall 
these oppressive influences be permitted to defile and afflict 
the church? For, that the sanctuary means the church, is 
evident from Heb. viii. 1, 2. " We have such an High 
Priest, who is set on the right hand of the Majesty in the 
heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true taber- 
nacle which the Lord pitched, and not man." The church, 
then, is the true sanctuary of which Christ is the high 
priest. In this sanctuary the tares and the wheat are to 
grow together until the harvest at the end of the w r orld, 
and then be separated by the angels. Matt. xiii. The 
sanctuary will be cleansed, then, when the man of sin is 
destroyed, at " the day of the Lord," or when the little 
horn, Daniel 7th chapter, " is slain and given to the burn- 
ing flame; " or when he is " broken without hand." 

But the sanctuary is to be cleansed, at the end of 2300 
days, or evenings and mornings. When are those days 
to begin, and what is the length of a day, are the two points 
to be settled. On these two points the chapter affords no 
information. It must, therefore, be sought elsewhere. At 
the close of the vision, after the explanation of it by the 
angel, Daniel informs us, verse 27th. "And I, Daniel, 
fainted and was sick certain days; afterwards I rose up, 
and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the 
vision, but none understood it." Here we have the testi- 
mony of the prophet that although the vision had been ex- 
plained, yet there were parts of it yet obscure. But all 
had been explained to him, except the two points under 
consideration; the nature of the time and its commence- 
ment. 



60 THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED — 

Accordingly, in the next chapter we have a key to these 
points. After the prayer of Daniel and his confession of 
sin, we are told, chapter ix. 20, " And while I was speak- 
ing, and praying and confessing my sin, and the sin of my 
Eeople Israel, and presenting my supplication before the 
iord my God for the holy mountain of my God ; yea, 
while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, 
whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being 
caused to fly swiftly, touched me, about the time of the 
evening oblation. And he informed me and talked with 
me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee 
skill and understanding. ,, 

1. Gabriel, whom he had seen in the vision at the be- 
ginning, was sent to him again. But the vision in the 
8th chapter is the first one in which he saw Gabriel. 
That vision, he did not understand. The same divine 
messenger is sent again, — 2. To give him what he had 
not at the close of the former vision, skill and understand- 
ing.'' 1 " Therefore understand the matter, and consider 
the vision/' What matter and what vision was he to un- 
derstand and consider ? Why, evidently, the one concern- 
ing which Gabriel had before instructed him, the " eve- 
ning and morning " vision, chapter viii. 14. 

He then gave Daniel a key, by which to understand the 
nature of the time and when to commence the 2300 days. 
Dan. ix. 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy peo- 
ple, (the Jews,) and thy holy city, (Jerusalem,) 1. " To 
finish the transgression ; " the transgression whereby 
the national doom of the Jews and Jerusalem should be 
sealed ; the rejection and death of Christ. 2. " To make 
an end of sin ; " by satisfying Divine justice, by the one 
sin-offering of Jesus Christ. 3. u To make reconciliation 
for iniquity ; " by the atonement of the Savior ; for " God 
hath reconciled us to himself by the death of his Son. " 
4. "To bring in everlasting righteousness; " as distin- 
guished from the righteousness obtained by the offerings 
made under the law, where' there was a remembrance of 
sins again every year. But Christ, by his own blo^d, en- 
tered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal 
redemption for us. 5. " To seal up the vision and proph- 
ecy ; " to confirm, or make sure the vision and prophecy 
of which this 70 weeks is a supplement and key. For if 



OR EPOCH OF THE KINGDOM. 61 

the first was fulfilled we. may look for the fulfilment of the 
other in due time. 6. " To anoint the Most Holy, " or 
"holiest of all," or " holy of holies." Thus Christ died 
when he entered into the holiest, by his own blood. He 
consecrated it for us. And we now have boldness by the 
blood of Jesus to enter into the holiest by a new and living 
way, which he consecrated. 

Thus all wjiich was predicted to take place in the 70 
weeks, was accomplished by the death of Christ. 

Then follows the time when the seventy weeks were to 
begin, viz. At " the going forth of the commandment to 
restore and build Jerusalem." That commandment was 
given B. C. 457, by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in the 
seventh year of his reign. See Ezra, 7th chapter. From 
B. C. 457 to A. D. 33, the time of the crucifixion, is 490 
years ; the exact number of days in 70 weeks. Hence, 
the 70 weeks or 490 days, are to be understood as stand- 
ing each day for a year, 490 years. 

If, then, the 70 weeks are a key to the 2300 " evening, 
and mornings," then they also stand for so many years ; 
and beginning B. C. 457, at the going forth of the com- 
mandment to restore and build Jerusalem, they will bring 
us to A. D. 1842, when " the sanctuary is to be cleansed ; '• 
and 4< the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom 
of their Father." 

The inquiry, perhaps, may arise, Why commence the 
2300 days with the 70 weeks ? I reply, — 1. Because the 
70 weeks was given as a key to the 2300 days, to show 
when they began. 2. There is no other time to com- 
mence but that. For, if we understand them literal days, 
we are equally at a loss where to begin. If they com- 
menced when the vision was given, the third year of Bel- 
shazzar, it is not true that the sanctuary was in any sense 
cleansed in 2300 days. If they represent 2300 years, and 
commenced then, they would have ended A. D. 1747, 
when no event transpired which could be called the cleans- 
ing of the sanctuary. But, leaving that point, we have no 
other period at which to commence but the one designated 
in the 70 weeks prophecy. Indeed, it is now admitted by 
the strongest opponents of these views, that the two peri- 
ods were to begin together; but then they contend that 
the cleansing of the sanctuary means the restoration of 

6 



62 THE SANCTUARY CLEANSED 

the Jews to Jerusalem ; and the commencement of a tem- 
poral millenium. But it has already been shown from 
Luke xxi. 24, that w Jerusalem shall be trodden down of 
the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.*' 
And that " then shall they see the Son of Man coming in 
a cloud, with power and great glory." So that the Jews 
will never be restored to Jerusalem, until the Son of Man 
comes to possess his everlasting kingdom. Again ; Ga- 
briel declared expressly, " At the time of the end shall be 
the vision." And the time of the end will be shown to 
be, from the fall of popery, 1798, to the end itself. 

Once more. The same divine messenger declares, verse 
19th, " At the time appointed (2300 days) the end shall 
be." So, when the 2300 days are ended, the end of the 
reign of wickedness will come, and " the sanctuary be 
cleansed." 

If it be asked, " If your calculation on this point should 
fail, will it not shake your confidence in the Bible ?" I 
reply, by no means. 1 admit there is a possibility of an 
error in our chronology, and if so it will affect this calcu- 
lation. But, I must, even then, believe that the great 
event is at the door. But, I now believe our chronological 
reckoning to be correct, and that 1843 will witness the 
cleansing of the sanctuary. 

If it is true, that we stand upon the verge of the great 
event, is it not vastly important that the world w r ere awake 
to it? And can ministers of the gospel be guiltless and 
yet refuse even to give the subject a candid and thorough 
investigation ? They are God's watchman, placed on 
Zion's walls to mark the signs of the times, and receive 
the word at God's mouth, and give the people warning 
from him. But, if instead of doing their duty, and can- 
didly looking at this subject as presented in the Word of 
God, the history of the world, and the present signs of the 
times, they content themselves with believing the old doc- 
trine of "the Jews return," "the temporal millenium," 
&c, thus crying, 4t My Lord delayeth his coming," and 
lull their flock to sleep on the subject, how will they an- 
swer it at " the great tribunal ? " 



SECTION V. 

THE TIME OF THE END, AND END ITSELF. 



THE MEDO-PERSIAN AND MACEDONIAN KINGDOMS. 

The prophecy of Daniel, in the 11th and 12th chapters, 
unlike the former, is communicated, not by prophetic em- 
blems, but by direct revelation of the events of futurity. 
But, like the others, it furnishes us with a train of events 
from the days of Daniel, to the resurrection and glorifica- 
tion of the righteous. 

In entering on the examination of this prophecy, I shall 
not dwell particularly on the firrt part of the 11th chapter, 
as it is so plain that there is little dispute as to its applica- 
tion, and a sufficient explanation may be found in most of 
the commentaries of the day. But, on the latter part of the 
chapter I shall dwell more fully. 

Dan. xi. 2. " There shall stand up yet three kings in Per- 
sia." This vision was in the third year of Cyrus, who 
was the then reigning monarch. After him reigned three 
other Persian kings, viz. Cambyses, Smyrdis, and Dari- 
us Hystaspes. " The fourth shall be far richer than they 
all.^ This rich king was Xerxes the Great. He was the 
richest of all the Persian monarchs. " He shall stir up all 
against the realm of Grecia." His expedition against 
Greece is one of the most memorable wars of antiquity. 
His army and the followers of his camp are computed at 
5,283,220 men. And as he was the last Persian king that 
invaded Greece, he is mentioned last, although there were 
eleven other kings who reigned after him on the Persian 
throne. 

Verse 3. " A mighty king shall stand up" fyc. Exposi- 



64 

tors are all agreed that Alexander the Great is here pre- 
dicted. 

Verse 4. " His kingdom shall be broken and divided to- 
wards the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity " 

In fifteen years after the death of Alexander, his entire 
family had become extinct; and there was none to inherit 
either his riches or glory. His kingdom was then divided 
among four of his generals. 1. Seleucus had Syria ; 2. Ly~ 
si?iachus, Asia Minor ; 3. Ptolemy, possessed Egypt ; 4. Cas- 
sander had Greece, and the neighboring countries. 

From the fifth to the fourteenth verse, we have a very 
striking prophecy of the wars carried on between the king 
of the north, Syria, and the king of the south, Egypt. 
For an explanation of which, see Clarke. 

Verse 14. And in those times, there shall many stand up 
against the king of the south (Egypt ;) also the robbers of 
thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, 
but they shall fall. 

The times here spoken of, were after the death of Ptol- 
emy Philopater, and while Ptolemy Epiphanes was a mi- 
nor, only four or five years old. Antiochus, king of Syria, 
thought this a favorable time to invade and conquer Egypt. 
Accordingly he engaged Philip, king ofMacedon, in his in- 
terests, and also brought powerful forces from the east. 
Egypt itself also rebelled, at the same time. Thus many 
stood up against the infant king of Egypt, with the design 
of conquering and dividing the kingdom between them. 
'' The robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves. " 
"Whilst" says Eollin,"they (Antiochus and Philip) were 
meditating to dispossess a weak and helpless infant of his 
kingdom by piece-meal, Providence raised up the Eomans 
against thern, who entirely subverted the kingdoms of 
Philip and Antiochus, and reduced their successors to al- 
most as great calamities as those with which they intended 
to crush the infant king." Thus they, Philip and Antio- 
chus, who stood up against Egypt, fell. 

Verses 15 — 19, continues the wars between the king of 
the north, Antiochus, and the king of the south, Egypt; 
until the death of Antiochus. When, verse 20, we are in- 
troduced again to the Roman history after the conquest of 
the four kingdoms of the Macedonian empire, and the as- 
sumption of the imperial form of government. Then 



AND END ITSELF. 65 

shall stand up in his estate, " or on his base," a raiser of 
taxes in the glory of the kingdom. This raiser of taxes, 
who inherited or stood " on the base" of those eastern 
kingdoms, was Augustus Cesar, the first Roman emperor. 
He stood in the height of the glory of the Roman domin- 
ions. He also made a decree that all the world should be 
taxed. Luke ii. 1. In his estate there stood up a vile per- 
son, Tiberius Cesar, under whose reign the prince of the 
covenant, Jesus Christ, was broken. Thus we are 
brought down to one of the grand points to which all the 
prophets point, the sacrificial death of the Savior. 

Next we are taken back to the union first formed be- 
tween the people of God, the Jews, and the Romans, the 
last of the four great earthly kingdoms which should exist, 
and which is to continue to exist until the end. 

ROMAN, JEWISH, AND CHRISTIAN HISTORY. 

After the death of the Savior, predicted in the 22d 
verse, we are taken back, verse 23d, to the origin of the 
connection between the church and the Romans. u After 
the league made with him (the power predicted verses 
20 — 22,) he shall work deceitfully ; for he shall come up 
and become strong with a small people." The league 
here spoken of, is the first ever made between the Jews 
and Romans. The Jews having been long harassed by 
the Syrians, and having no prospect of assistance from the 
neighboring nations, sent ambassadors to Rome, and en- 
tered into a league, offensive and defensive, with the Ro- 
man senate. This league was formed about B. C. 162. 
And soon after Demetrius, the Syrian king, at the order of 
the Roman senate, left off to afflict the Jews. (Josephus 
Ant. B. 12, chap, x.) From this time the Romans, who 
had been hitherto a small people, began rapidly to extend 
their power, and enlarge their dominions. The Roman 
government did that which none of their predecessors had 
done. The fattest provinces of the world became to them 
an easy prey. The Jewish rulers were appointed and con- 
tinued in office at the indication of the Romans. 

" He shall scatter among them the prey." Rome is said 
to have done more toward the conquest of the world by 
her policy and craftiness than by her arms. Scattering 
6* 



66 THE TIME OF THE END, 

he prey and spoil among those they conquered, was one 
of her favorite modes of conciliating the feelings of her 
most inveterate foes. Bat when these means failed to win 
over their enemies to the Roman interests, the sword 
decided the contest. 

From the 25th to the 27th verse, we have the history 
of the final conquest of Egypt by Augustus Cesar, by the 
termination of a war carried on against Mark Antony, a 
brother-in-law of Cesar's, and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, 
whose cause Mark Antony had espoused. For a history 
of this war, see Rollin's Ancient History, vol. viii. 

Verse 28. ." Then shall he return into his own land, with 
great riches." After the conquest of Egypt, B. C. 30. 
Cesar returned to Rome in triumph, being master of all the 
dominions of Alexander the great. 

" And his heart shall be against the holy covenant ; and 
he shall do exploits, and return into his own land" 

The next warlike exploit of the Romans, after the con- 
quest of Egypt, B. C. 30, of any considerable importance, 
was the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the 
Jewish nation ; after which he returned again to his own 
land. 

Verse 29. " At the time appointed he shall return, and 
come toward the South ; but it shall not be as the former, 
or as the latter." 

" Come toward the South." The time appointed for the 
division of the Roman empire; the seat of government 
was removed from Rome to Constantinople, toward, not to 
the South ; but on the way to the South by aland passage. 
" Not as the former ;" the Syrian kings going to war with 
Egypt, "nor as the latter;" the Romans marching against 
Egypt. But he shall merely remove the seat of his em- 
pire toward the South. 

i( The ships of Chittim shall come against him" The 
hoards of northern barbarians shall invade his dominions, 
and conquer the portion he has vacated by removing to 
Constantinople. 

" And have indignation against the holy covenant, and 
have intelligence vnth them that forsake the holy cove- 
nant" Julian, the apostate, exhibited his malice against 
the Christians, and did all he could to restore Paganism 
and put down Christianity. To effect this, he made use 



AND END ITSELF. 67 

of apostates from the Christian faith, to betray the cause 
they had forsaken. The Pagans, also, in the empire, be- 
lieved the distress they suffered from the Huns, &c. was 
in consequence of the wrath of their gods, for suffering 
the Christians to live among them. " Arms shall stand 
on his part." The Romans shall defend themselves by 
arms, for a season, and preserve independent the eastern 
empire. " And they (the barbarous nations) shall pollute 
the sanctuary of strength" (Rome,) by offering to their 
Pagan deities human sacrifices. " And shall take away 
the daily sacrifice," "a?idthey shall place the abomination 
that maketh desolate" The conquerors of Rome, when 
they Were converted to Christianity, took away the Pagan 
rites and sacrifices, which had for centuries been observed 
in Rome, and in their place set up Christian images as ob- 
jects of worship, which have continued in use to the pres- 
ent time. So that the removal of Pagan abominations 
only made way for another great system of corruption and 
wickedness. This change was effected about A. D. 508, 
by the conversion of the Ostrogoths to the Christian faith, 
since which Christianity has been the religion of Rome. 

" Such as do wickedly shall he corrupt" Those who 
are only nominal Christians, not Christians in heart, shall 
he corrupt by flatteries, to submit to all the pretensions of 
papal Rome. " But the people (true Christians) who do 
knoto their God, shall be strong and do exploits." They 
shall protest against the corruptions of Christianity which 
they witness around them. " And they that understand 
among the people shall instruct many." The true servants 
of God shall keep religion alive through the long dark 
night of Papal rule. Yet they shall be persecuted and 
put to death by a variety of means, many days. il When 
they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help." 
They shall have now and then a respite from their perse- 
cutions ; but whenever they do, they shall find many to 
cleave to them with flatteries, and that they are in danger 
of being corrupted from their simplicity. But, to keep 
them humble, and dependent, " some of them of understand' 
ing shall fall, to try them, and to purge them, and make 
them white, even to the time of the end ; because it is yet 
for a time appointed." Until the time of the end, there- 
fore, the Papal power was to continue and be exerted 



68 THE TIME OF THE END, 

in persecuting and putting to death all who were in his 
power, who dared to dissent from the successor of St. Pe- 
ter. But at the period where the 35th verse leaves us, the 
time of the end is yet future. 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, AND THE REIGN OF BUONAPARTE. 

We are next presented with the prophetic history of one 
of the most singular governments furnished hy the history 
of the world. A government perfectly atheistical in its 
character, and reckless in its conduct. 

Verses 36 — 39. " And the king shall do according to 
his will ; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself 
above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against 
the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be 
accomplished ; for that that is determined shall be done. 
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the 
desire of women, nor regard any god ; for he shall magni- 
fy himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the 
God of forces : a God whom his fathers knew not shall he 
honor, with gold and silver, and with precious stones, and 
pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong 
holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and 
increase with glory ; and he shall cause them to rule over 
many, and shall divide the land for gain." 

Such a character as is above described, was revolution- 
ary France. That dreadful revolution commenced 1789, 
and was styled the first year of liberty. But, not satisfied 
with the achievements of that year, and the liberty they 
had asserted and exercised, the revolutionists rested not, 
until they had established the reign of demoniac equality, 
and frantic atheism. At an early period of the revolution, 
the illuminated free-masons took the name of jacobins, 
from the name of a convent where they held their meet- 
ings. They then counted 300,000 adepts, and were sup- 
ported by 2,000,000 of men, spattered through France, arm- 
ed with pikes, and torches, and all the implements of the 
revolution. On the 12th of August, 1792, the wilful king, 
or atheistical power, exalted himself above all law ; the 
king of France was seized and carried a prisoner to the 
temple, and his right to the crown declared forfeited ; and 
it was decreed that to the date of rational liberty, the date 



AND END ITSELF. 69 

of equality should in future be added, in all public acts. 
The names and titles of the nobility of France were swept 
away at a stroke, and all distinctions in civil society an- 
nihilated. 

Not satisfied with this, on the 26th of August, 1792, 
this power exalted himself above all religion, and a decree 
was passed, establishing atheism by law ; and the clergy 
were ordered to leave the kingdom within a fortnight of its 
date. 

Thus this king, 1. Did according to his will, asserted 
and claimed licentious liberty as the right of all. 2. He 
exalted himself above every God or power, imprisoning 
the sovereign of France, and setting himself up as the 
supreme power. 3. He spoke marvellous things against 
the God of gods ; by decreeing that there was no God ; 
and by banishing the ministers of God from his dominion. 
In November, a discourse was pronounced by Dupont, upon 
atheism, which was applauded by the convention. And in 
Nov. 1793, it was stated by one of the atheists, that all 
religious worship had disappeared in his section, even to 
the very idea of religion. He added, that he and his fel- 
lows detested God. On the 17th of October, 1795, all ex- 
ternal signs of religion were abolished, and it was decreed 
that an inscription should be set up in the public burying 
ground, that death is only an eternal sleep. 

" Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the 
desire of woman." Not only was atheism established by 
law, but the most gross and unbounded licentiousness was 
sanctioned, by a law of June 6, 1794. He honored a 
strange god. An idol was introduced, and set up in one 
of the churches, whither the abandoned citizens flocked, 
not to worship their Maker, but to hear his name blas- 
phemed. Also, after the people had become sick ?>( athe- 
ism, and demanded the restoration of some form of re- 
ligious worship, a heathen ritual was prepared, and pre- 
sented to the people, as the form of worship they were to 
observe. Nor was this repealed until Buonaparte was 
appointed first consul. And they divided the land for 
gain. The property, both of the clergy and nobility, was 
seized and confiscated, and applied to the support of the 
republic. 

Verse 40. " And at the time of the end shall the king 






70 TH3 TIME OF THE END, 

of the South push at him, and the king of the North 
shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, 
and with horsemen, and with many ships ; and he shall 
enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass 
over." 

" The time of the end' 1 is a period to which frequent 
allusion has been made, and now we are brought down 
to the period where it is introduced. It has before been 
stated, that " the time of the end" is from the fall of Popery, 
1798, to the end itself. The king of the South, we 
have also seen in the preceding remarks, is Egypt, and 
the king of the North, is Syria. " Him, " in the 40th 
verse, is the atheistical government of France. This 
government was to prosper, verse 36, "until the indigna- 
tion be accomplished ; " or until Papal Europe should 
be scourged for the persecutions inflicted on the people 
of God. For this purpose, atheistical France was per- 
mitted to triumph. The French revolution, and the wars 
which followed it, and desolated Europe for so many years, 
were God's sore judgment on the Papal powers. Buona- 
parte was an instrument of vengeance in the hand of the 
Almighty. " And at the time of the end " — he is pre- 
sented as growing up out of the revolution, rising above, 
and giving direction to, that dreadful storm. The Papal 
dominion was taken away in Feb. 1798; and in May fol- 
lowing, at the instigation of Napoleon, the French fitted 
out an expedition for Egypt, the command of which was 
given to Buonaparte, He landed in Egypt, on the 1st of 
July, and landed his army at Marubaut, about a mile and 
a half from Alexandria. The Turks, although unprepared 
for this invasion, mustered what force they could, and, 
shutting the gates of the city, held out until the French 
forced their way through the old crumbling walls. Thus, 
in 1798, the king of the South pushed at him. After re- 
conciling matters, however, with the Mahomedans, as well 
as he could, he commenced his march through Egypt to 
the Pyramids, in sight of which they arrived on the 21st 
of July. Here a decisive battle ensued with the Mame- 
lukes, in which Buonaparte gained an important victory. 
The effect was, Cairo surrendered to him, and lower Egypt 
was entirely conquered. In the mean time, the French 
fleet, which was moored in the bay of Aboukir, was de- 



AND END ITSELF. 71 

stroyed by Lord Nelson. After settling the affairs of 
Egypt, he commenced, in the beginning of 1799, a march 
into Syria, with an army of 10,000 picked men. Feb. 
15, he took possession of El-Arish ; and, pursuing his 
march, he took Gaza, without opposition ; but at Jaffa 
(Jappa) the Turks made a resolute defence ; but the walls 
were carried by storm, and 3000 Turks died with arms in 
their hands. And from 1200 to 3000 more, who had sur- 
rendered, were led out of the town, and murdered in cold 
blood. 

Buonaparte having ascertained that the Pacha of Syria 
was at St. Jean d'Acre, and was determined to defend that 
place to extremity with the forces he had already assembled 
for the invasion of Egypt, endeavored to seduce this fero- 
cious chief from his allegiance to the Porte. But the first 
of Napoleon's messengers returned without an answer; 
the second was put to death. Buonaparte then moved on 
with his army toward Acre, in all the zeal of revenge, and 
ordered the necessary apparatus for a siege to be sent from 
Alexandria, by sea. 

Sir Sidney Smith was cruising in the Levant, with two 
British ships of the line, and being informed by the Pacha 
of the approach of Napoleon, he hastened to support him 
in the defence of Acre. Napoleon's vessels and stores for 
the siege fell into his hands, and he arrived at Acre two 
days before Buonaparte appeared in sight. Smith, and 
Phillippeaux, a French Eoyalist, w 7 ere permitted to regu- 
late, as far as possible, the plan of defence. Although the 
loss of his heavy artillery, and the presence of two British 
ships were inauspicious omens, yet Buonaparte immedi- 
ately commenced the siege. This siege continued for 
weeks to be carried on with great spirit on both sides. 
Meantime, a vast army of Mussulmen was assembled on 
the mountains, and was preparing to descend upon the be- 
siegers, in concert with the garrison of Acre. Junot, a 
French General, was sent to oppose this vast army of 
horsemen, and was followed by Napoleon himself ; and 
they succeeded in dispersing the army. The siege con- 
tinued to be vigorously carried on, day after day, until 
Buonaparte's army was thinned before the Pacha's gallant- 
ry and the skill of his allies. At this critical moment, a 
Turkish fleet appeared in sight with reinforcements for the 



72 THE TIME OF THE END, 

Pacha. Napoleon determined to finish the siege before 
the arrival of the fleet, and Smith was as determined to 
hold out until it arrived. But Buonaparte's efforts were 
fruitless ; on the 21st May, Napoleon yielded to stern ne- 
cessity, raised the siege, and retreated upon Jaffa. 

Thus "the king of the North," Syria, came "against 
him like a whirlwind," with " horsemen, " with " chariots, " 
or icheeled artillery ', and with many ships ; two British ships, 
and a Turkish fleet. And he was defeated and driven 
back with great losses. 

Verse 41. " He shall enter also into the glorious land, 
and many countries shall be overthrown ; but these shall 
escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the 
chief of the children of Aramon. n 

In his march from Egypt to Syria, he stood in the glo- 
rious land, Palestine, and fought several battles, and also 
in his retreat he passed through the same countries. And 
many, not countries, but persons, were overthrown by him. 
But the Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites, countries bor- 
dering on Palestine, in consequence of his defeat at Acre, 
escaped him. He did not invade their ancient countries. 
Verses 42, 43 — u He shall stretch forth his hand also upon 
the countries ; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and 
silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt ; and the 
Lybians and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps." 

Although when he left Egypt, he intended to go by 
land either to Constantionple, or India, yet his defeat in 
Syria forced him back again into Egypt, so that it did not 
escape his grasp. He then became master of that ancient 
and renowned kingdom, and had power over all its treas- 
ures. The Lybians and Ethiopians, nations bordering on 
Egypt, were both at his steps ; but in consequence of his 
sudden departure from Egypt, neither of them were con- 
quered by him. 

Verse 44. u But tidings out of the east and out of the 
north shall trouble him ; therefore he shall go forth with 
great fury to destroy and utterly to take away many." 

After Buonaparte's retreat into Egypt, in the course of 
his negociations, sir Sidney Smith found means of sending 
a file of newspapers to Buonaparte, giving him an account 
of the disastrous state of French affairs on the continent of 



AND END ITSELF. 73 

Europe. Thus tidings out of the north, from Syria, and 
the total failure of his East-India expedition, caused a man* 
ifest uneasiness, and induced him to desert his army in a 
helpless and enfeebled condition, and make his way with a 
single vessel and a few of his intimate friends, back to 
France. 

He immediately commenced another Italian campaign 
which in two months restored the Cesalpine Republic to 
the French dominions. 

And for fifteen years, every successive year brought with 
it a fresh sacrifice of human life, to gratify the ambition 
of the insatiable Buonaparte. During that period, Europe 
was deluged with the blood of millions. In his Russian 
campaign, of an army numbering near 500,000 when he 
began his march, not 50,000 ever returned to their homes. 
And in addition to this, hundreds of thousands of his ene- 
mies perished. Thus, truly, did he "utterly make away 
many." 

Verse 45. " And he shall plant the tabernacles of his pal- 
ace, between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain ;" or, 
according to the margin, " mountain of delights of holi- 
ness." 

A tabernacle, is a temporary abode. i( Tabernacles 
of his palace" would be many temporary palaces. Such 
were Napoleon's. Between the seas with which Europe 
is surrounded, there was not a kingdom, with the excep- 
tion of Turkey, where he was not at one time or other, 
master, temporally, of a palace ; even to Russia itself. 

Other sovereigns had their established palaces, and with 
their kingdoms transmitted them to their posterity, from 
generation to generation. But this mighty conqueror of 
the nations, although he possessed many palaces, yet had 
none abiding. " Yet he shall come to his end, and none 
shall help him." 

After the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon, the second time, 
abdicated the throne of France, and, finding his escape cut 
off, he voluntarily surrendered himself into the hands of the 
British, by whom he was doomed to exile on the island of 
St. Helena ; where, on the 5th of May, 1821, amid a 
dreadful storm of wind and rain, which tore up trees by the 
roots, and laid waste almost all which came in its way, 
Napoleon's spirit left the scenes of earth to appear before* 
7 



74 THE TIME OF THE END, 

him who is the " king of kings and lord of lords." 
Thus he came to his end, and there was none to help him. 
And the Bourbon family were restored to the throne of 
France. 

Thus far, we can trace the fulfilment of the prophecy on 
the page of history. But what remains of this prophecy is 
yet to be fulfilled. It has been remarked that the time of 
the end began in 1798. at the time of the fall of popery. 
That it did so, is proved by the fact, that when it came, the 
king of the south, Egypt, was to push at an infidel or athe- 
istical government, which was fulfilled in 1798, when the 
Egyptians opposed themselves against the French. And 
the whole prophecy from the 40th to the 45th verse, which 
was more than seventeen years in being accomplished, was 
all predicted to take place at " the time of the end. " Nor is 
that all which was predicted to be accomplished at the time 
of the end. The three first verses of the 12th chapter also 
relate to events which are to take place during the time of 
the end ; but they are yet in futurity. 

GREAT TIME OF TROUBLE. 

Dan. xii. 1 — 3. " And at that time, (the time spoken of 
chap. xi. 40,) shall Michael stand up, (commence his reign,) 
the great prince which standeth for the children of thy 
people ; (the people of God, Jew and Gentile,) and there 
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there 
was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time thy 
people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found 
written in the Book. And many of them that sleep in the 
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and 
some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that 
be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and 
they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever 
and ever." 

None of these events have as yet taken place ; therefore 
" the time of the end" has not ended, nor will it close until 
the end itself, when the righteous shall be everlastingly 
glorified. 

The great time of trouble, verse 1st, is the same as that 
spoken of by the Savior, Matt. xxiv. 21. Both affirm it to 
be a time of trouble, such as was not from the beginning 



AND END ITSELF. 75 

to that time; and the Savior adds, no nor ever shall be. 
I think I shall be able to prove, here, that those who refer 
the trouble spoken of by Christ, to the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, are in error. 

1. Both Daniel and Christ predict such tribulation as 
never before was known. But the time of that tribulation 
is placed by Daniel subsequently to the fall of Buonaparte, 
and prior to the resurrection. Hence it is in futurity. The 
time spoken of by Christ could not, therefore, have been 
when Jerusalem was destroyed. For the Lord Jesus de- 
clared there never should be another such time as ihat spo- 
ken of by him. But Daniel's is to be such us never was 
before. They must, therefore, both refer to one and the 
same time : a period just prior to the resurrection of the 
just. It will be probably, after the Lord Jesus leaves the 
throne of grace, and commences the work of judgment; 
when " the dead (Rev. xx. 12.) will stand before God, and 
the books be opened, and another book be opened, which is 
the book of life, and the dead will be judged out of the 
things written in the books, according to their works. 
Then, too, " Ye shall return and discern between the righ- 
teous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and 
him that serveth him not." The Lord will "give his an- 
gels charge 11 of his people, and they shall " not be afraid of 
the pestilence that w r alketh in darkness, nor for the destruc- 
tion that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at 
their side, and ten thousand at their right hand, but it shall 
not come near them ; they shall only see the reward of the 
wicked". The Lord " will spare his people, as a man spar- 
eth his own son that serveth him." Then will follow the 
resurrection of the just. 

THE WORDS AND BOOK CLOSED AND SEALED. 

Dan. xii. 4. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words 
and seal the book even to the time o( the end : many shall 
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." It is 
often brought as an objection to the advocacy of the views 
here presented, that " others have w r ritten on the subject, 
and they have discovered nothing of which you speak. 
If these things are so, why did they not find it out." " Has 
any new revelation been made to you, that you know so 



76 THE TIME OF THE END, 

much more than the wise and good who have gone before 
your 

To this it is replied, No; I do tiot profess any new 
revelation on the subject. And as an explanation of the 
reason why " the wise and good " have not discovered 
these things, I will direct the inquirer to the text quoted 
above. The prophecy was, by Divine command, closed 
and sealed, even to the time of the end. How then could 
the wisest or best of men understand what God had closed 
and sealed ? But I have proved that the time of the end 
has come, and has continued from 1798 to the present 
time. And are we not authorized to look for an increase 
of knowledge at the time of the end ? Most certainly. 
And we have it: for the last forty years, there has been 
more said and written on the prophecies, and more light 
reflected on them than for centuries before. And light 
continues to increase. And those who can be persuaded 
to give up the old tradition of a temporal miilenium, and 
search the Bible for themselves, see the light. But how 
can those "believe w T ho seek honor one of another, and not 
that honor which comes from God?" But the seal is now 
evidently broken ; and many run to and fro; and know- 
ledge on this and all other subjects is increased. 

Verses 5 — 7. A new scene is presented ; and two celes- 
tial beings w r ere heard conversing ; one inquired, a How 
long shall it be to the end of these wonders?'' The won- 
ders are the events foretold in the 11th and first three 
verses of the 12th chapter. " The other replied and lifted 
up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for- 
ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and 
when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of 
the holy people, all these things shall be finished/' 

That the first part of this text has been fulfilled has been 
already demonstrated. (See the third division, the king- 
dom of God at hand.) That the latter part is in a rapid 
course of fulfilment, all who know any thing of the state of 
the world at the present time, I think, will acknowledge. 
What is meant by scattering the power of the holy people? 
Daniel exclaimed, " I heard, but I understood not. Then 
said I, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things ?" 
The time when they should be accomplished had already 
been stated. But he did not understand the meaning of 



'and the itself, 77 

the concluding event, the scattering the power, &c. It 
was replied to him, "the words are closed up and sealed, 
even to the time of the end." As much as to say, it was 
not for him to know the full meaning ; that was reserved 
for others. But an intimation of the nature of the event 
was given. Verse 10. " Many shall be purified, and made 
white and tried." There shall be a great revival of reli- 
gion at the time of the end, and many shall be converted. 
" But the wicked shall do wickedly." The wicked shall 
still hold on their wicked course. " The wise shall under- 
stand." Those who believe God's word will understand 
the scriptures and the signs of the times. " But none of 
the wicked shall understand." They who remain enemies 
to God shall be overtaken as a thief. 

The scattering of the power of the holy people, is the 
extension of the gospel. The term should rather have the 
idea of spreading attached to it. It is the same event as 
that promised by the Savior, Matth. xxiv. 14. " This gos- 
pel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world for a 
witness unto all nations. Then shall the end come." 

That this work is rapidly going forward, and that God 
is succeeding it in a very gracious manner, by pouring out 
his spirit on all flesh, is too manifest to need proof. Never 
before, were such efforts made for the spread of the gospel. 
And never before were the heathen so eager to receive it. 
What is done by England and America is but a part of 
what is being done in this work. God is raising up la- 
borers by hundreds, where but yesterday, as it were, all 
was the darkness of the grave respecting the gospel. Is 
not the end, then, evidently near? 

Verse 11. "And from the time that the daily sacrifice 
shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh deso- 
late set up, there shall be 1290 days." " The daily sacri- 
fice," we have seen above, was the pagan sacrifices offered 
in Rome. 1290 days were to elapse from the time they 
ceased to be offered, to the fall of papal rule. Paganism 
ceased in Rome A. D. 508. 1290 years, (for we are to 
reckon those days, years,) would bring us to 17^S, when 
the papal dominion fell. 

Verse 12. " Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to 
the 1335 days." From the same period the taking away 
the daily, to the end, should be 1335 days or years. The 
7=fc 



78 THE TIME OF THE END, 

daily was taken away 508, 1335 years taken from that, 
will bring us to A. D. 1843. " But go thou thy way till 
the end be ; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at 
the end of the days." At the end of 1335 years, then, the 
end will come, and Daniel will stand in his lot, with all 
the sanctified. 

A few more remarks and this division of the subject 
shall be dismissed. We have already seen that Daniel 
was directed to shut up the words and seal the book, to 
the time of the end : and afterward, when he wished to 
understand further respecting the prophecy he uttered, he 
was told that the words were closed and sealed to the time 
of the end. Now let this fact be compared with Acts i. 6, 
7. When the disciples asked the Lord, " Wilt thou at this 
time restore the kingdom to Israel ? " He replied, " It is not 
for you to know the times and seasons which the Father 
hath put in his own power." The time of the end had 
not then come, therefore, they were not permitted to un- 
derstand the times foretold by the holy prophets. See also 
1 Pet. i. 10 — 12. There we are told that the prophets 
searched and inquired diligently, what, and what manner 
of time the spirit of Christ did signify when it testified be- 
forehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should 
follow — everlasting glory. But it was revealed to them 
that they ministered, not to themselves, but to after genera- 
tions. And how applicable are these remarks to Daniel. 
The spirit of Christ taught him, and then directed him to 
close the words and seal the book to the time of the end ; 
and the words were shut up, and the book sealed to the 
time of the end. But that time has come. 



SECTION VI. 

THE THREE WOES, AND THE TWO WITNESSES, 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR STUDYING. THE BOOK OF REVELATION. 

As the limits I have prescribed for myself in this work, 
will not admit of my entering so fully into an examination 
of the book of Eevelation, as I could wish, I shall content 
myself with remarking upon some of the most important 
(if it is proper to use the term) points presented in that 
most deeply interesting book. 

I am not unaware of the prejudice existing in the Chris- 
tian world, against the study of this book, with the idea of 
understanding its meaning ; but, so long as I believe it to 
be, what it professes in its introduction to be, " The reve- 
lation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show 
unto his servants things tohich must shortly come to pass ; 
and he sent and signified it by his angel, unto his servant 
John ; who bare record of the word of God ; " so long 
shall I feel justified in studying this sacred book. And 
again, while it is recorded, " Blessed is he that readeth, and 
they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those 
things which are written therein" I shall be encouraged, 
whatever my fellow-creatures may think of it, to endeavor, 
according to my ability, to read and understand these 
words ; for God has pronounced his blessing on such a work. 
Can we ask, then, for stronger encouragement for reading 
and endeavoring to understand the book? It is Heaven's 
own book, and as such, it is every way worthy of our pe- 
rusal. We will, therefore, enter on the examination of 
one of the subjects presented in this interesting prophetic 



80 THE TIME OF THE END. 

book, viz. the sounding of the three woe trumpets spoken 
of in the 9th, 10th and 11th chapters. I have selected this 
particular subject, because it affords some striking and 
tangible evidence of the near approach of the everlasting 
kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. For, when the sixth 
angel has done sounding, the second woe will be passed 
and the third woe and the seventh trumpet will come 
quickly. And when the seventh trumpet does sound, and 
the third woe come, then, " the kingdoms of this world 
shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ ; 
and he shall reign forever and ever." 

THE ANGEL OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT, REV. IX. 

" And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from 
heaven unto the earth ; and to him was given the key of 
the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit ; 
and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a 
great furnace ; and the sun and the air were darkened by 
reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came locusts 
out of the smoke on the earth; and unto them was given 
power as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it 
was commanded that they should not hurt the grass of the 
earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree ; but only 
those men which have not the seal of God in their fore- 
heads. And to them it was given that they should not 
kill them, but that they should be tormented five months." 

There is a very general agreement at the present day, 
among prophetic expositors, that the subject of this proph- 
ecy, is Mahommedism. I shall not, therefore, enter into a 
particular explanation of the various figures used in the 
prophecy, but take it for granted that those who thus ap- 
ply it are correct, and confine myself principally to the 
examination of the prophetic periods mentioned in the 
chapter, and endeavor to show their fulfilment. If this 
can be done, it is in itself the strongest evidence that a 
right application is made of the prophecy, when it is appli- 
ed to Mahommedism. 

The first prophetic period which occurs in the chapter, 
is in the 5th verse ; " that they should be tormented Jive 
months" A prophetic month consists of 30 days, as in 
Eev. xiii., and each day represents a year. Five months 



AND END ITSELF. 81 

will amount to 150 years. During 150 years the locusts 
(or warlike armies of horsemen) which came out of the 
smoke, (the Mahommedan errors,) for the propagation of 
his religion, were to torment a certain nation of men. 
But what nation ? And when were they to begin the 
work? These are questions to be settled. 

I shall endeavor to determine the first question by set- 
tling the second. When, then, were the Mahommedan ar- 
mies to commence their torment on a certain 'people for 150 
years ? 

Verse 10, the period is again referred to. " And their 
power was to hurt men Rve months. " The 11th verse 
pointed out the time when those months were to com- 
mence. " And they had a king over them, which is the 
angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew 
tongue, is Abaddon, (that is, a destroyer,) but in the Greek 
tongue he hath his name Apollyon," (destroyer.) 

The beginning of the five months, then, is when these 
armies have one king over them, of the character above 
described. 

After the death of Mahommet, his followers were divid- 
ed into various factions, under several leaders. In this 
state they continued until the close of the 13th century. 
They were then united under one government, under Oth- 
man, the founder of the Ottoman or Turkish empire. 
The founder of the government as well as the government 
itself, were truly described when called Abaddon, or 
Apollyon, a destroyer. 

But this king was to be the angel, or chief minister, of 
the bottomless pit, or of the religion which arose from 
thence, under Mahommet. Such was Othman ; and such 
have been his successors. Like the pope of Eome, the 
Turkish Sultan has exercised supreme power, both civil 
and ecclesiastical, throughout his dominions. This em- 
pire was established A. D. 1299. " And on the 27th day 
of July, 1299, Othman first invaded the territory of Ni- 
comedia ; " to commence his attack on the Greek empire. 
(See Gibbon's History of the decline and fall of the Ro- 
man empire.) 

Beginning in 1299, the 150 years would end A. D, 
1449. In that year, John Palealogus, the Greek Emperor, 
died, and left no children to succeed him in the throne j 



82 THE THREE WOES 

and his brother Constantine Deacozes was to succeed him. 
But from some cause or other, although it was a time of 
peace, before he dared to ascend his brother's throne, he 
sent ambassadors to Amurath, the Turkish Sultan, to ask 
his permission ; and, having obtained it, he assumed the 
government of the empire. Thus, for 150 years, from 
1299 to 1449, although the two powers were almost con- 
tinually engaged in broils and contentions, yet the Turks 
could not prevail against the Greeks. " Their power was 
to torment," by sudden excursions. Thus far they might 
go, but no farther. The 150 years ended and with it vir- 
tually ended the Greek empire ; because from that time the 
Greek emperor only reigned by permission of his deadly 
foe. Thus closed the sounding of the fifth angel, and 
thus ended the first woe. 

SOUNDING OF THE SIXTH ANGEL. 

Verses 12 — 15. "One woe is past, and behold there 
come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel 
sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the 
golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel 
which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are 
bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels 
were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, 
and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men." 

One woe ended with the 5 months or 150 years, and 
two more were to succeed it. The second woe began, 
when the sixth angel began to sound. The same power 
which had restrained the Ottomans to the work of tor- 
menting men five months, on the sounding of the sixth 
angel commanded that restraint to be taken off. " Loose 
the four angels which are bound in the great river Eu- 
phrates. And the four angels were loosed." 

" The four angels " are the four principal nations of 
which the Ottoman empire is composed, located in the 
neighborhood of the Euphrates. They had hitherto been 
confined to the work of tormenting the Greeks, without 
politically putting them to death. But from this time they 
were to slay, politically kill, that nation. 

Accordingly when the 150 years ended, the Turks were 
loosed, and the independence of the Greeks ceased, by their 



AND THE TWO WITNESSES. 83 

voluntarily acknowledging that they only existed political- 
ly, by the permission of the Turkish Sultan. 

But the duration of their dominion of the Greek empire 
is limited to " an hour " 15 days ; " and a day" one year; 
" and a month" 30 years ; " and a year" 360 years. 
The whole amounting to 391 years and 15 days. Both 
periods, the 150 years, and 391 years and 15 days, are 541 
years and 15 days. The first period was fulfilled, and the 
four angels were loosed. Hence, we may expect that when 
the second period closes, with it will close the reign of the 
Ottomans in Constantinople. If the time for commencing 
the periods was at the time of the first onset of the Otto- 
mans, upon the Greeks, July 27th, 1299, then the whole 

PERIOD WILL END IN AUGUST, 1840. 

All observers of the signs of the times must acknow- 
ledge that from present appearances in the eastern world, 
there is nothing improbable in the idea that the Turkish 
power will fall in the course of the present year. If it 
does, we shall be furnished with another demonstration of 
the fulfilment of prophetic periods, and shall be able to 
decide with certainty that the 9th chapter of Revelation 
predicts the Mahommedan government. The conclusion, 
also, that the sounding of the last trump is at the door, 
will be inevitable and irresistable to all who believe the 
word of God. 

I wish to invite the reader's particular attention to this 
point. It is, on some accounts, the most important event 
of time, predicted, and to take place in futurity. After 
the fall of Constantinople, or the Turkish power located 
there, we may not look for any very signal event to take 
place as an index of the coming of the Lord, until the 
mystery of God is finished. 

After the prediction of the Turkish power, the Eevelator 
continues, chap. 10th, and relates what he saw farther. 
He saw an angel stand upon the sea and upon the earth, 
who " lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that 
liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things 
that therein are, and the earth, and the things that are 
therein, and the sea, and the things that are therein, that 
there should be time no longer. But in the days of the 
voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, 
the mystery of God should be finished ; as he hath de- 
clared to his servants the prophets." 



84 THE THREE WOES, 

The revelator was here permitted to anticipate the 
sounding of the seventh angel, and the event of his sound- 
ing, but the way was not yet prepared for presenting in 
due form the sounding of the seventh trumpet. 

The history of the Greek church and their oppression 
by the Mahommedans, was given in the 9th chapter, 
which brought us down to the ending of the second woe : 
but before the event of the third woe could be fully pre- 
sented, another line of prophecy must be brought up to the 
same period. That line was to give the suffering and de- 
pressed condition of true religion in the west, and its tri- 
umph before the end. 

THE LITTLE BOOK AND ITS CONTENTS. REV. 10TH AND llTH 

CHAP. 

The Revelator was directed to go and take a little book 
out of the angel's hand and eat it up. This he did ,• and 
was then told, that he must prophesy again, before many 
peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. 

The events of the little book are the events predicted in 
the 11th chapter. And it was those events he was to pre- 
dict before people, nations, tongues and kings, before he 
could fully present the third woe. 

THE TWO WITNESSES PROPHESY IN SACKCLOTH. 

Chapter xi. 1, 2. And there was given me a reed like 
unto a rod : and the angel stood, saying, Rise and mea- 
sure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that wor- 
ship therein. But the court which is without the temple 
leave out and measure it not ; for it is given unto the Gen- 
tiles : and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty 
and two months. 

The temple here spoken of, and which the Revelator 
was commanded to measure, is the church of Christ, com- 
posed of his living members, whether Jews or Gentiles. 
See Eph. ii. 19 — 22. This is emphatically the temple of 
God ; and it was the church he was to measure. 

" But the court — leave out— it is given unto the Gen- 
tiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot 42 
months." 



AND THE TWO WITNESSES. 85 

In the ancient temple at Jerusalem the outer court, was 
devoted to the Gentiles, into that they were permitted to 
enter and present their sacrifice to the priest. 

So also in the Christian temple, there are those who, 
although professed members of Christ's body, are no more 
than Gentile or outer court worshippers, after all. Such 
is, and has been the character of the church of Rome. 
She, while God has had a seed to serve him, has been 
treading that holy city under foot, and for 42 months or 
1260 years, the saints were given into her hand to oppress, 
persecute and put to death. This church was not, in mea- 
suring the true church, to be taken into the account as 
forming any part of the temple of God. 

Verse 3J. " And I will give .power unto my two wit- 
nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred 
and three score days, clothed in sackcloth." Verse 4. 
11 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks 
standing before the God of theearth." 

The 4th verse seems to be a reference to Zech. 4th 
chapter. The prophet was presented in vision with a view 
of two olive trees. He asked, What are these? And was 
told, " This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel. 

The two olive trees, then, represent the word of the 
Lord. Had we no farther evidence as to the character 
and person of the two witnesses, this ought to be sufficient. 
But we have other evidence. John v. 39. Jesus said to 
the Jews, " Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye 
have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me." 
Here the Savior explicitly asserted that the Old Testament 
scriptures bore witness of him. And hence they are his 
witness. 

Again ; Matt. xxiv. 14, He said " This gospel of the 
kingdom must be preached in all the world, for a witness 
unto all nations. " What is this but calling the gospel 
his witness ? The Old and New Testaments are, therefore, 
Christ's two witnesses. They were to "prophesy " testify 
the truth of God, during all that long dark night of papal 
rule. 

" Clothed in sackcloth" Sackcloth is the emblem of 
sorrow or mourning. So the word of God is represented 
as mourning over the desolation of the church during that 
reign of wickedness. But, still it bore a faithful testimony, 
and many by its heavenly light were led to the Savior. 
8 



86 THE THREE WOES, 

" If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their 
mouth and devoureth their enemies," 

If any man add to the words of this book it testifies that 
God will add to him the plagues written therein. And if 
any take away from the words of this book, his part shall 
be taken from the book of life, and from the holy city. 
Again, John xii. 48. "He that rejecteth me, and receiv- 
eth not my words, hath one that judgeth him, the word that 
I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." 
Thus fire proceedeth out of the mouth of these witnesses 
and devoureth all who would hurt them. 

" These have power to shut heaven that it rain not. 1 '' 
When the word of God was obscured, the reign of grace, 
the genial influences of the gospel were withheld ; revivals 
of religion, during the greatest part of papal rule, were al- 
most unknown. "And have power over waters to turn 
them to blood" While the restraints of the word of God 
were withdrawn, the nations of the earth were continually 
involved in war and bloodshed. 

i( And when they have finished their testimony ," or, accord- 
ing to Faber, when they are about to finish their testimo- 
ny, " the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, shall 
make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill 
them." 

The beast from the bottomless pit, is the same as the 
wilful king, Dan. xi. 36, revolutionary France. That in- 
fidel government, so far as it could be done, made war on, 
and put to death, both the Bible and the God of the Bible. 
The one they declared by a formal enactment, a lie, and pro- 
hibited its use ; and the other they declared a nonentity, a 
being which did not exist. 

They not only declared the Bible a lie, and prohibited 
its use, but, gathered it in heaps and burned it. At other 
times it was dragged through the streets with every circum- 
stance of contempt. 

" And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great 
city, zvhich spiritually is called Sodom, and Egypt, where 
also our Lord was crucified." 

" Streets of the great city." Paris. " Spiritually is call- 
ed Sodomy The crying sin of Sodom was its licentious- 
ness. But, probably in no part of the world, since the ruin 
of Sodom, has this sin ever been carried so far as in France, 
during the reign of terror. On the 6th of June, 1794, a 



AND THE TWO WITNESSES. 87 

formal enactment was passed in the city of Paris, to estab- 
lish fornication by law. A parallel cannot be found. 

It is also spiritually called " Egypt. ," The crying sin 
of Egypt was her atheism. " Who is the Lord, that I 
should let the people go, I know not the Lord, neither 
will I let the people go," was the language of Pharaoh. 
So also it was in France. One infidel, after the existence 
of God had been denied, declared that he and his fellows 
11 detested God." 

"Where also, our Lord was crucified" The motto 
and watch-word of the infidel crew, was, ll Crush 
the ivretch" meaning Christ. Nor was it an empty cry. 
All who bore the name of Christ were either banished 
from France, or seized and put to death. It might be also 
in reference to the murder of the 30,000 Christians, mem- 
bers of Christ's body, on St. Bartholomew's eve, that it is 
said to be the great city " where our Lord was crucified." 
" And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, 
and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and a 
half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in 
graves." The nations of the earth saw and heard of the 
dangers of the French revolutionists, in regard to the Bible, 
but did not suffer it to be buried out of sight. It still stood 
out prominently in Great Britain. " Three days and a 
halfP The decree, condemning the Bible and establish- 
ing atheism, was passed Aug. 26, 1792. And that decree 
continued in force until March, 1796, a period of about 
three and a half years. During those three and a half 
years they lay dead in Paris, in sight of the nations. 

" And after three days (years) and a half, the spirit of 
life from God entered into them." The decree by which 
they were condemned was repealed, and the Bible was 
again permitted to be read. 

" And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying un- 
to them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven 
in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them." 

The great voice from Heaven, is the great demand which 
the world has made for the Bible since that time. The 
1260 years of the prophesying in sackcloth of the two wit- 
nesses, ended with the fall of Popery, 1798. In 1801, the 
British and Foreign Bible Society was formed, which, 
by the aid of the American Bible Society, has translated 
and printed the Bible, either in whole or in part, into more 
than 150 different languages. And missionary societies 



88 THE THREE WOES. 

have been multiplying beyond even the most sanguine ex- 
pectations of the warmest friend of the heathen world. 40 
years ago, and the work is still going forward with un- 
paralleled rapidity. The gospel will continue thus to 
spread, until it has reached the last heathen nation as 
Christ's witness, " then/' according to his declaration, "shall 
the end come." And the same fact is presented — Rev. xi. 
14, 15. "The second woe is past, and behold the third 
woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded ; 
and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, the king- 
doms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord 
and his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." 

If the calculation on the periods of the 9th chapter are 
correct, we are upon the very verge of the time when 
this text will begin to be accomplished. For as soon as 
the second woe passes, the third will come quickly. How 
soon, it is impossible to tell. The only safety any one can 
have, will be in securing an interest in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The third woe may come immediately after the 
second is past, or it may not for months. For the exact 
time we are to watch. It will come as a thief in the night. 
It will come when the world are crying peace and safety. 
Of the day, the hour, or the year, no man knoweth. But 
rest assured, reader, when you see the Turkish empire fall, 
that it is nigh, even at the door. And by the close of 1843, 
we may expect that all these things will be finished, and 
the righteous glorified. 

Now, I ask of those who contend for a temporal milleni- 
urn, to show me, where it is to find a place between the 
sounding of the seventh angel, when the kingdoms of this 
world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his 
Christ, and he begins his everlasting reign. "And the 
time of the dead, (verse IS,) that they should be judged, 
and that God should give reward unto his servants, the 
prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear his name, 
small and great; and destroys them that destroy the earth." 

Where, again, I ask, is the place for the millenium to be 
found ? 

' Then " let Zion's watchmen all awake." Let them cry 
aloud and spare not, until a slumbering world is awake to 
its danger, and flies to Christ for refuge. For now it is 
especially true, that " He which testifieth these things, 
saith, surely I come quickly ; amen. Even so, come, Lord 
Jesus." " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you 
all. Amen," Revelation xxii : 20, 21. 




DOW & JACKSON, 

BOOK, CARD, AND FANCY JOB PRINTERS, 

No. 14 Devonshire Street, Boston, 

Respectfully inform their friends and the public that 
they execute all kinds of work in their line in the best 
manner. They have just added to their establishment one 
of the latest improved POWER PRESSES, which are 
well known for doing work in a better manner and with 
greater rapidity than any other kind of press now in use. 

Sermons, Reports, Circulars, Cards, Jobs, &c. executed 
at the shortest notice. 

THEY PUBLISH 

The SIGNS OF THE TIMES, edited by Elder J. V. 

vies. This paper is designed to illustrate the Prophe- 
cies relating to the Second Coming of Christ. It is issued 
lily, at the low price of one dollar per annum, 
in advance. Persons procuring five subscribers, and remit- 
ting five dollars, post paid, shall receive the sixth gratis ; 
and for ten dollars, three copies gratis, and in the same 
proportion for any larger number. 

Mr. Miller writes for the paper. 

THEY HAVE FOR SALE 
MILLER'S LECTURES on the Second Coming of 
Christ about the year 1843. 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF PROPHECY, by David 
CambelL , This book is designed to refute some of the 
prominent arguments in Mr. Miller's theory. Illustra- 
ted by numerous elegant engravings, which are tastefully 
painted. Persons ordering them from this office, can ob- 
tain them cheaper than at any other place. 

An ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY, on the near ap- 
proach*of the Glorious, Everlasting Kingdom ©f God on 
Earth* Wholesale and retail. 



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